Getting A Weasley's Attention
by emziiz
Summary: Ron won't pay any attention to Hermione unless he needs his homework done. When Fred offers to help her get Ron's attention, will it still be Ron she wants?
1. Authors Note

**AUTHORS NOTE CHAPTER**

****Hi guys;

Being the idiot that I am (also it was 12:03 in the morning when I uploaded) I didn't put in any indication of how my story was going to go, so here are a few details

- Mostly in Hermione's point-of-view

- It _is_ a Fred/Hermione story, but it will be about Ron for the first few chapters

- I'm not sure how long it will be, but I estimate around 10-20 chapters (don't hold me to that - it's just how I see the story as of now)

- I don't want to sound whiny, but I really need reviews. If no-one is going to give me feedback and/or ideas, I'm going to have no inspiration to continue writing something that no-one cares about when I could be studying

- The story _is_ beta'd and run through a grammar check program, so if there are any mistakes in the story it is most likely because I upload very early in the morning and add random bits into it without checking.

- If something doesn't make sense or parts of the story clash with others, please notify me, I'm terrible with timelines.

- Enjoy

Emziiz xx


	2. Lunchtime Blues (Starring Role)

Chapter One – Starring Role

_It almost feels like a joke to play out the part  
When you are not the starring role in someone else's heart  
You know I'd rather walk alone, than play a supporting role  
If I can't get the starring role._

_Marina and the Diamonds, Starring Role_

Hermione

As Hermione walked into the Great Hall for lunch after the Christmas break, she was a bundle of nerves. She was about to see _him_ again. All Christmas long she had been a wreck on the inside, but appeared just fine to her parents for the two week break. While at the ski resort, her mind wasn't on the books in front of her, but on the redhead who hadn't left her mind in weeks. All her Muggle books she took with her were romance, which didn't help her current situation. Whenever her novel described the hero as an Italian man with perfect looks, she would envision a pale British wizard with unruly hair and numerous freckles. _The way the tiny water crystals dripped down his muscular abs made every woman in his presence swoon. _More like _He was dripping wet by the time he got out of the shower, his hair sticking to his forehead. _

Damn Ronald Weasley. She had always felt _something _for him, but she didn't know what. It was unlike what she felt for Harry and she knew that they would always be platonic. But Ron? She knew she wanted something more. Staying in Ginny's room at The Burrow during the previous school holidays, she had confessed to her best female friend about her confused feelings in one of their late night conversations. It should have been awkward, talking about your feelings for someone's older brother, but Ginny was in the same boat as her, as Harry was like her brother. Convincing Ginny to date other people was easy enough, but to make the same promise? She couldn't even keep the boy out of her head! She felt as if they shared some special bond by sharing the exact same pain. Ginny had once said "Even being in the same room as Harry makes me tingle all over..." and got a dreamy look on her face. Did she do the same thing when she thought about Ron? She sure felt tingly, especially in the shoulder.

"Earth to Hermione!" Harry poked her shoulder again, trying to get her attention. While stuck in her thoughts she must have sat in her regular place at the Gryffindor table, next to Harry and across from Ron. But today he was being flanked by the twins, George on the same side as Harry and Fred across from her. The three Weasley boys were looking at her as if she was a bit mad for looking at them, but then she realized Harry was still trying to get her attention.

"Are you alright? You've seemed a bit out of it since the holidays." _NO I'M NOT BLOODY ALRIGHT! _she screamed at him in her head. She kept having these ..._thoughts_ of Ron jumping out of his seat in potions and declaring his love for her in front of the fifth year Gryffindor and Slytherin classes, or him reaching over the table in the Great Hall and kissing her passionately like the hero in the romance books. So many scenarios had gone through her mind over the holidays and people had been noticing that something was up with her. Maybe they were more fantasy than thought.

She dropped her bag full of books onto the floor. "I'm quite alright, Harry. Never better." she replied, although much quieter than in her head. She mentally slapped herself and cleared her throat. "I just haven't been getting enough sleep lately is all." she said much clearer. The three boys across from her seemed to accept the answer and continued eating as if their food would disappear if they slowed down. Harry, however, was looking at her like he knew she'd been only telling half the truth. Sleep _had_ been hard to come by for a few weeks now, but that was because she couldn't stop thinking of _him, _dammit.

As she stared down at her plate, she realized Ron was basically forbidden fruit. They had been friends for too long, ever since a troll attacked her in their first year and he and Harry rescued her. Over the years they became known as the Golden Trio, never being seen without one or the other - unless she was pissed off with something insensitive that Ron had said. But everyone had their flaws she reasoned, she had to learn to look past his unconscious comments.

"As long as you're sure, Hermione." Harry says, looking over at her in concern. She knew that Harry wouldn't give up until he knew for sure that she was alright. She stopped her staring competition with her plate and met his amazing emerald eyes. "I really am fine, Harry. A bit of sleep will do me just fine. Anyway, I think I need a lie down after any Potions class, especially after Snape's snide comments about Gryffindor."

This seemed to reassure Harry as George started talking animatedly about some prank or another that he and Fred had pulled over the years involving Snape. As Fred added his comments into the story regularly, Ron had to keep looking back and forth between his two brothers, as if he was in the middle of a Muggle table tennis match. He was certainly overdue for a haircut, as every time Fred interrupted George his hair would get in his face as he changed directions. She couldn't help herself, she was mesmerized by the way his hair could be so smooth and vibrant, yet look as if it would burn her if she stopped resisting the temptation to touch.

_I really need to stop reading romance books._

"Something is definitely up with Granger, Fred." George looked over Ron's head to look at his twin

"Indeed, but _whatever _could it be?" Fred smirked at George.

"Could it be -"

"Grades?"

"Friend problems?" Harry looked concerned again.

"Time of the month?" Ron looked slightly ill at this point.

"Or could it be -"

"Boy troubles?" They concluded together as she blushed a furious shade of red.

"Guys, seriously?!" She almost yelled. "I'm. Fine. I just need some sleep. I haven't been sleeping well and Potions was a drag, that's all. Just drop it." She picked up a salad sandwich and took a ferocious bite out of it, causing Harry and Ron to wince.

"Are you sure?" Fred asked politely but with a smile as if the cat had cornered the mouse.

"Because we could always help" George chimed in.

"We are boys, y'know"

"At least we were the last time we checked"

"Are you still a boy, George?"

George pulled his shirt away from his body and peered at his chest. "Fred, between breakfast and lunch, it seems I have not developed breasts, so I think I can safely assume that I am still a boy." Ron had broken out into fits of girlish giggles when George had said 'breasts' and Harry just look amused at the twins way of trying to cheer her up. She, on the other hand, looked as if she didn't know what to do – smile or yell. After a moment, she chose to smile; it would probably make Ron happy. The twins were grinning at one another over the top of Ron's head.

"But if talking to _boys_ about _boy_ troubles, we would be happy to Polyjuice ourselves into girls" Fred suggested, raising an eyebrow at George.

"Of course, I've always wondered what it would be like to be a girl. I mean, having Ginny and Ron as sisters' is great, but you never get the full experience, know what I mean?" George smiled at a laughing Hermione as Ron crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm not a girl." Ron whined, which made Harry laugh a little too loudly and made Ron look even sulkier.

"Sure you're not, mate. Eat your beans; I hear they're good for you." Harry grinned with his mouth full of beans. Ron unfolded his arms and put his elbows on the table, balancing his head in his palms. She couldn't resist at this point, he just looked so lost. She placed a hand on his cheek, happy when he looked up and locked eyes with her. "I know you're not a girl, Ron." Ron smiled at her weakly, which made her heart do a flip.

"So do we, Ronniekins, because if you were-"

"You would be singing the Weird Sisters badly in the morning in the girls' showers, not the boys."

Ron blushed a deep red and knocked her hand away forcefully. He took one last bite of his sandwich and stood up between his two brothers, making to leave. He was prevented however, because a hand on either wrist made him stand still.

"If you're going to be a git, brother dearest, I suggest you be a git towards us. Hermione did nothing wrong, in fact she stood up for you. However, since you have a brain the size of Peeves' fingernail, you don't realize that the reason we poked fun at you was to cheer her up. The way you knocked her hand away as if it was a Chocolate Frog wrapper after she was trying to support you is really quite appalling, Ronald; yet you don't even bother to apologize." George slowly pulled his little brother down as Fred made his speech, Harry and Hermione staring at the brothers as if they had grown two heads each.

"Have you no shame?" George quipped as Ron finally plonked down onto the bench heavily. Looking over to Harry for advice on what to do, he realized that the emerald eyes he was seeking out weren't even looking in his direction, but focused on the girl who was nearly in tears.

She didn't cry over much. She was usually a very strong person. Once or twice in her Hogwarts years she had cried, but they had been justified. Having a mental breakdown from the work overload in her third year _was _justified, right? But then her feelings had finally popped out of nowhere instead of hiding in some dusty unused corner of her brain and noticed Ron. Not that he would ever notice her of course, but it was nice to fantasize. But he _had _noticed her! He smiled a _real _smile at her...right before he knocked her hand away and tried to storm off. Just thinking of the ways that they could never be together was enough to make a tear roll down her cheek, unfortunately noticed by everyone in the group.

"You're a right git sometimes, brother." George said to a confused Ron, glancing over at her while she wiped her cheeks.

"I didn't do anything! Hermione, what did I do wrong?" Ron asked as she looked away. Ginny had just walked into the Great Hall with Michael Corner, who she had been dating for the past month, but only Hermione knew. Ginny instantly read the distress on her face and whispered something to Michael. Michael walked over to the Ravenclaw table as Ginny rushed over to her. The younger girl instantly looked at Ron.

"What did you do this time?" She questioned with an icy glare.

"I didn't do anything!"

She looked at George for confirmation. "We were doing a bit of teasing and-"

"Ron;" Fred butted in "We were teasing Ron."

"Right, so we were doing a bit of teasing to cheer Hermione up and Ron took offense. Hermione tried to comfort him and he slapped her hand away-"

"Quite forcefully"

"Yes, quite. Next thing's next and Ron doesn't believe he's done anything wrong."

"He has though."

"Oh yes he has." Ginny confirmed, slinging an arm around her shoulder. "You are the most insensitive prat sometimes, Ronald, I cannot believe we're related."

"You're making me sound like a git"

"That's because you are a git" The twins replied in unison, making them smile and high-five each other before acting serious again. She laughed at the twin's sense of humor when Fred winked at her. At least _someone_ noticed her.

Shrugging Ginny's arm off of her shoulder, she gave a weak smile to her and Harry. "I'm fine. If I don't get enough sleep, I overreact. You guys should know that by now."

"No, if you don't get enough sleep, you get all pissy and start rambling on about school rules." Ron replied finishing his sandwich. It would have been almost comical, the way that everyone slowly turned to look at Ron as if he was an idiot, if not for the fact that she had stood up abruptly and ran out of the Great Hall.

She ran. Out of the Great Hall and into one of the many hallways of Hogwarts Castle. Up and down, left and right, this way and back until her legs were about to give out and her lungs demanded her to stop. She had no clue where she had ended up, but knew it was far away so she couldn't hear everyone calling her name. She could still hear Ron's voice though, and his comment rang inside her head. She slid down a cold stone wall in defeat and looked for any type of distraction.

On the opposite wall of the unused hallway was a portrait of a beautiful witch. Studying the inscription from afar, she could barely make out the words _'Lady _Iris_ Pivis' _in the dull lighting. The witch was placed in a lovely backdrop of a brightly colored garden, with lots of trees and flower beds. There was a lake glistening in the background, and she appeared to have more sunshine than Hogwarts had seen in months. Lady Pivit herself looked no more than twenty and was sitting on a rock, wearing lovely robes that looked as if they were from the 16th century. Her wavy blonde hair was pinned to the side in an intricate knot with loose tendrils falling across her face, which was studying Hermione's face very closely as well.

Lady Pivit was the first one to break the awkward silence. "Enough of the staring young lady, you'll burn a hole in my portrait!" She said haughtily

"Sorry!" She squeaked and look away hastily. Her voice always sounded squeaky when she cried and it was one of the reasons why she was never as emotional as the other girls in her year.

"What house are you in, girl?" Lady Pivit replied much nicer than before.

"Gryffindor" she sniffled, wiping her nose on her robe sleeves.

"Back in my Hogwarts days, I was a young Hufflepuff. I had made a lot of friends in the forms of Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, but was taught from a young age to never trust a Slytherin. I kept that promise to myself and befriended naught. Looking back now, it may have been a smart idea. You see, every week after supper, four male Slytherins come out and tip over the portraits hanging in abandoned corridors such as mine. If I had befriended a Slytherin...No use thinking of the past now. What seems to be giving you woe, my dear?"

The change in demeanor shocked Her, but when Lady Pivit insisted, she told her story. Starting off with a quick summary of her past four Hogwarts years, she told Lady Pivit of her year so far, staying with the Weasley's, telling Ginny of her feelings, having to spend a whole term in confusion and throwing herself into studying everything for the next year, a fact that impressed most of her teachers. As the Lady listened intently, she brought up the more recent holidays, not being able to ski in fear of losing her concentration and crashing into a tree just because she couldn't take her mind off of a boy. As her tears started to dry, she told her about the event that led herself to her, how even Fred and George supported her better than Ron did sometimes.

"...So I ran out of the Great Hall and just ran, ending up here. And now I'm...well, I don't know what I'm going to do. I could go back and say sorry for running out or I could-"

"Apologise for being insulted! Merlin, how the times have changed. Back in my day, if a man was to ever _think_ of a lady in less than the best intentions, he was simply not allowed to court her! Now a lady must apologize for being in distress... My word, I'm quite happy I died four hundred years ago if it has come to that!" Lady Pivit finally rebutted angrily. Having heard her tale of woe, she was becoming more and more annoyed with this Ronald boy even though she had never met him.

"But you don't understand, Lady Pivit!" she cried. "I embarrassed him in front of his best friend and his brothers, and then I ran out as if I actually had a reason to be upset! If someone did that to me, I would expect them to apologize!"

"Then you are shallower than I thought. If you upset your friend, would you expect them to apologize?"

"No, that would be my responsibility."

"But it is quite alright if you do it in front of their friends?"

"That makes it worse!"

"Then why isn't this Ronald boy trying to find you and apologise?"

"Because he doesn't need to!"

"Why ever not?"

"Because! He doesn't need to because..." She trailed off. She was so confused about Ron, about everything. In a whisper, she added "I don't know..."

"Because you care about him too much? Or because you don't expect anything from him?"

"A bit of both, really." She laughed tiredly. "I don't know anymore. I mean, I do...feel _something_ for him, so I don't really need a great apology. Just something little so I know he knows that he did something to upset me and hopefully won't do it again, but on the other hand -"

"You want the pain to stop." The portrait butted in.

She paused for a moment. She didn't feel pain, at least she didn't think she did. But everything the portrait had said so far had been right, so what made her think this was any different? After glancing at Lady Pivit, she voiced her thoughts.

"Everybody who has been in love, is in love or will be in love have or will feel pain at one point or another. Whether it be at your courtiers glances at a richer or more beautiful lady, whether it be too much attention from your betrothed or it be because of too many pesky little reasons built into a ball of hate, you will feel some sort of pain. The question that needs to be answered is - do you feel pain?" Lady Pivit asked as if she was a therapist.

She was ready to break down into tears again. She was used to having a logical answer to everything and when in doubt, go to the library. But love was so much more complex than a couple of parchments thrown together and bonded by string; it was an emotion.

"You can't just study a book a thousand times and suddenly know your heart. You needed to study your heart to find the answers that a book could never give." Lady Pivit said quietly, as if reading her thoughts.

"But that's all there is to me, studying and books. If I didn't have those in my life, what would I be?"

"You would be the exact same as now; a headstrong, beautiful young lady who needs to find her footing. You just wouldn't be so shallow. Reading books is never bad, my dear. It is when we read so much that we become the books that there is a problem. You know what love should feel like by reading the Muggle books that you do, but it does not mean you understand for sure how it will feel for you. When I was a young girl in love, I was known as -"

"Crap!"

"Excuse me?!"

"My apologies, Lady Pivit, but would you happen to know what time it is?" She had just realised she had left her bag of books in the Great Hall, not remembering them after Ron had made her so upset. She also realised she only carried her book bag on schooldays, and at last check, Thursday was considered one. She mentally slapped herself again.

"Judging by the position of the sun," Lady Pivit looked up into the sun of her portrait "I would say I haven't the slightest clue, as I haven't seen a night's full moon in over three hundred and fifty years." she ended sarcastically.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry Lady Pivit, I didn't mean it like that. After running out on Ron I completely forgot my bag, and it is a Thursday and I have classes after lunch that I cannot afford to miss." She hurriedly explained as she wiped her cheeks free of smudged mascara and straightened out her crumpled clothing. She felt a bit of vertigo when she stood up after sitting down for so long, but she quickly shook it off.

"I would think that we have been conversing for about an hour, so the Great Hall should be free. But after retrieving your books and attending classes, Ms. Hermione." She looked up at the beautiful woman smiling down at her "Make him notice you. Do something amazing to make this Ronald boy see you for who you really are." The portrait looked to Hermione's left, the way she had charged down the hall an hour ago. "I would leave now, if I were a physical formation such as yourself. I believe Headmaster Dumbledore is coming."

Sure enough, She could hear footsteps coming towards them. "I'll be back soon, to have a real conversation with you, but not today, OK?" Lady Pivit looked elated at the thought of having a regular visitor, which made Her feel better about her promise. "Oh course not today, child. But run quick, or your Headmaster might see you out during class!" She giggled as if she were a schoolgirl of the twentieth century, not a painting of a woman from four hundred years ago.

"I believe it is too late for that, Lady Iris." Dumbledore said cheerily as he stepped into the dim light. Despite his cheery outward expression, Hermione was horrified. She had been caught breaking the rules before, being a part of the Golden Trio ensured that, but they were major school rules. Being caught, after dark, in the Forbidden Forest and talking to a giant spider was one thing, but to be caught wagging class (as unintentional as it was)? She knew that nothing could beat this as her worst day.

"Ms. Granger! I never expected to see you here at this time of day! Isn't today full of surprises?" Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling.

"Uh, yes, of course it is, Sir." She was confused. Did he not realise she was out of class talking to a portrait? Or was he Laing on punishing her later, in front of everyone? Was he going to take her Prefect badge? She had worked so hard for it, she was a star pupil! One misdemeanor and she was going to lose everything she had worked for! No!

"Ms. Granger, is there something you need to tell me? You seem...distressed, for lack of a better word." Dumbledore asked with a slight tilt of his head. _He's completely bonkers! s_he thought. _Absolutely insane._

"N-no, Sir. I'm fine." she tried to reply calmly, but her weak façade slipped when her voice broke at the word 'fine'.

Dumbledore looked at her knowingly. "If I'm ever upset for any reason at all, I always find it a good idea to share my troubles with a trusted friend, hopefully someone who would do the same with me."

"I see, Sir." she replied weakly, and a but confused.

"Run along and find Mr. Weasley. He has been looking for you, you know. Many people care about you a great deal, but make sure to find the ones who mean it, not the ones who want you for your knowledge."

"Won't Ronald be in class?" she asked, confused but elated. Maybe he did care for her? Maybe he even skipped class to find her and tell her he was sorry, that he can't express his love for her properly, that he needs her as much as she needs him, that -

"I think it is safe to assume that Mr. Weasley is indeed in class. But Mr. Weasley is still looking for you, so he can return your bag. Don't worry about going to your remaining classes today, if you wish. I will be certain to tell your professors that you were in my office the whole afternoon."

She was stunned. Instead of getting detention or losing her Prefect status, her own Headmaster was willing to take full responsibility for her actions.

"Don't look so stunned Ms. Granger!" Dumbledore smiled. "Can a headmaster not know what is going on with his students? I may be old, but I do know what is happening within my school, important or not. Now run along and find Mr. Weasley if you want your bag back, I have some business with Lady Iris I must attend to." Dumbledore smiled at her confused look as she thanked him and Lady Pivit.

"Oh, and Ms. Granger?"

This was it; this is where she got expelled. This is where she turned into a failure, in a dusty hallway in a magical castle. This is when her hopes and dreams came crashing down on her, locking her into a mess of destruction.

"Don't fret; everything will work itself out in the end." With that, Dumbledore turned away from her, facing the occupier of the portrait who was waving at her as she stood dumbstruck for a few moments. She suddenly realised she had to find Ron and get her bag so she could get some extra studying done if she didn't have to attend class. She turned around and tried to find which corridor she came from.


	3. Hallways (You Found Me)

**A/N: Hello everyone! I feel so smart because I remembered to put in a Authors Note before I published it, so yay to me. I want to say something really profound and meaningful but all I can think about is the next chapter, so please enjoy!**

2 – You Found Me (Hallways)

Lost and insecure  
You found me, you found me  
Lyin' on the floor  
Surrounded, surrounded  
Why'd you have to wait?  
Where were you? Where were you?  
Just a little late  
You found me, you found me

- _The Fray, You Found Me_

As she tried to remember the way she came, Hermione couldn't stop thinking about what Dumbledore had said moments before he had dismissed her. Many people care about you a great deal, but make sure to find the ones who mean it, not the ones who want you for your knowledge. What in Merlin's beard was that supposed to mean? Was someone using her? We're one of the few people she trusted just using her to pass their O.W.L.S? There were only two people she ever studied with, and she hardly believed Harry was using her. Occasional copying of notes? Sure, but he was always very appreciative and made it up to her after. So that left one person.

Was Ron really just using her to pass their O.W.L.S? Surely not, they had been friends ever since a troll tried to kill her in their first year! Knowing how much information Ron was capable of taking on all at once, he probably never thought of using her up until their fifth year and ditching her after O.W.L.S...did he?

No, of course not. That would be too smart for him she laughed to herself, her humour dying as she reached an intersection of corridors. During her escape, she hadn't noted which way went where and how to get back. Left or right? Straight ahead or turn back around and go a different way? She felt she finally understood why Dumbledore let her take the rest of the day off. She was never going to find the common room before the next class! Right or left? Was there any real difference? She was just going to end up back in the common room with people staring at her anyway. And she couldn't retreat into her dorm either, not with Lavender and Parvati gossiping about who snogged who where. She could go to the library, but if anyone was looking for her they'd look for her there first. Besides, she'd feel silly going to the library without her book bag.

Damn. She had forgotten that Mr. Weasley was looking for her. It annoyed her to no end the way that Dumbledore didn't name his students, it made her feel old. She knew Ron's last name was Weasley, so why did he have to call him Mr. Weasley? What if there was more than one person in the school with the same last name? What if they had a brother or a sister? What if they -

Everything suddenly clicked into place. I think it is safe to assume that Mr. Weasley is indeed in class. But Mr. Weasley is still looking for you, so he can return your bag. That's what Dumbledore had been going on about! Ron had gone to class after lunch, probably thinking she would be there too. Ginny must have found her bag as she got up and gave it to one of the twins to give to her! Thank Merlin, she though Dumbledore had gone nutters, or al least forgot how to speak proper English for the time being.

But which twin had her bag? Surely they both didn't skip class just to give her bag to her, at least she hoped not. She kind of hoped George had it, not because she liked him more, but he seemed to be more in tune with people's feelings when he pranced them, not just prancing anyone willy billy like Fred. At least George would have at least sensed that she was upset if she ran out of the Great Hall crying, but then again, it might be the perfect opportunity to prank someone. She wouldn't know.

She reached another intersection and looked around. When had she even decided which way she was going to go? She must have unconsciously started walking again. She was surprised she didn't sleepwalk the amount of times she found herself somewhere without knowing how she got there. But which way now? There were no portraits around, so she couldn't ask for help. This castle really needs a map she thought to herself. Why don't I have the Marauder's Map when I need it?

In her self-pity, she nearly missed the faint sound of footsteps coming from her left. Finally, I can get some rest. She quickly walked into the left corridor, trying to hear the distant keeping at a furiously fast pace for a few metres, she realised she could only hear hers because she was walking so fast, so she slowed down. There. To her right. She quickly walked down the dark corridor. All the ways she had been so far were pretty dim, but that was nothing compared to this. She had to stick her hand out in front of her for fear of hitting a wall straight in front of her. She couldn't even tell if there were hallways branching out of the one she was in it was so dark. Being the responsible girl she was, she had sewn a reasonably invisible pocket into her bag so she always knew where it was. It was irresponsible to leave your wand in your robes in her opinion. What if something happened to your robes in class? What if they caught on fire and the only thing you could do was take them off before they burnt you alive? What if you got a corrosive potion slipped on the back of your robes? You would be too busy taking them off, never mind save a piece of wood locked safely inside it. These things were bound to happen with Neville Longbottom in your class. No, having it in your bag was the smartest option. You kept your bag on the floor under your desk during classes, so nothing bad could ever happen to it there. It could happen to you, but not to your wand.

These thoughts were running through Hermione's head as her hand hit a wall. It was near pitch black and if she waved a hand in front of her face, she wouldn't have seen it. The only good thing about hitting the wall was that the footsteps were becoming clearer and clearer with every step. She could make out that they were coming from her right, so she turned that way again. She didn't want to call out in fear that they would run away from a Prefect, or worse; it could be a Slytherin who was trying to get her into trouble. She didn't know how much more trouble she could get in today without getting expelled.

Trying to follow the footsteps as silently as possible, she made her way to the hallway to her right. She could see a brighter light now, and she was able to make out the cobwebs and the old brick that surrounded her. She didn't worry about running into cobwebs, she had more important to do, such as getting out. It was almost exhilarating to be so close to a bright light. After her talk with Lady Pivit, she felt as if she was starting fresh. Starting new. Starting again. Which was a bit weird seeing as she had only been away for an hour and had talked to a four-hundred year old 20-something stuck inside a portrait. The footsteps seemed to be getting louder and louder, and for that, she was thankful. She was about ten metres away from the light when she started running towards it.

Blinding light was the first thing she registered after getting out of the dusty hallway and moving into the bright one. She covered her eyes with her hand, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the sudden change in brightness. When her eyes finally went back to normal, she realised she still didn't know where she was. How in Merlin's beard am I going to get back now? Was playing over and over again in her mind like a mantra. She felt as if she had been walking around for hours trying to find a place she didn't want to be. She didn't even know what floor she was on.

"Shit!" she heard someone half-whispered/half-yelled from down the narrow hallway. It sounded familiar, but for the life of her she couldn't figure out who it was. It was definitely someone from Gryffindor, she had heard the voice often. But all the Gryffindors had class after lunch on Thursdays. Who would be out?

"Hello?" She yelled. She didn't care anymore. Let someone find her. Even if they ran off she could just follow whoever it was. Or just demand them to stop so she could question whoever it was as to what they were doing out of class and for them to go straight back to the common room, so she could just follow.

"Hermione?" the voice called out. Dammit, it was so familiar! And they must know who she was if they knew her by name.

"Yeah?" she called out into the deserted hallway.

"Stay right there; I'm coming to find you!"

Oh crap. She had just told someone where she was and she didn't even know who it was. Did she just wait for them to find her, or did she hide out in the deserted corridor and wait for whoever it was to pass? She didn't have much time now, the footsteps were coming closer at an alarming rate. Whoever it was must want to find me quickly if they're running. Stay in the light or hide until they went past? She wanted to be found, but she wanted to know who was doing the finding. Nope, she thought. Not going to wait in the light. She couldn't even tell which direction the footsteps were coming from anymore, they were so loud and close. She turned to go back into the dark hallway, but got knocked down instead.

If there was one thing Hermione hated, it was naps. They were even worse when she didn't have a clock right next to her. It made her feel as if she were a zombie coming back to life for the first time. She felt groggy and her blanket seemed to be holding her down. Actually, her legs and chest seemed to be held down, but someone was pulling the thick sheet off of her slowly. She moaned in disagreement. She may not be comfortable, but she was sure as hell warm, and she wanted to stay that way.

"Oh shit, Hermione, I'm so sorry, oh shit oh shit oh shit, I'm the biggest idiot are you alright?" Her warm cover asked her. She knew she was still asleep if her bed was talking to her, no matter how uncomfortable it was. She didn't respond to her talking sheets, it was a bit too creepy for her liking. You'd think after all the things she had seen and done over the past five years she would be alright with random talking objects, but you would be wrong. "Is your head alright?"

Why was her sheet asking so many random questions? This was surely the weirdest dream she had ever had. And why wouldn't her head be alright? Maybe it was because she didn't have a pillow. That must be it. The dream is her subconscious telling her that she's thrashed around too much and her pillow has fallen on the floor. Her right arm was holding her left shoulder in slumber, so tried to push the sheets off of her. The problem was, her sheets had started to gently put a warm palm against her forehead and it felt so nice, so much like belonging, that she decided to let this dream play out some.

"I didn't hit you that hard, did I? C'mon love, you gotta get up." Her mind was really going into overdrive now. The voice sounded just like the one she was looking for before she went to sleep, before inanimate objects had started talking to her. The warm palm suddenly stopped caressing her cheek and she felt a weird sense of betrayal. Why didn't her sheets want to hold her anymore? True, this was one of the weirdest dreams she had ever had, but she never felt this strongly in her sleep. She only felt this strongly when she was awake, when she was hurt...

"Hermione! Get up!" Her bed called softly to her as the sheets started peeling off of her slowly. She realised she actually was awake now and snapped her eyes open as she quickly sat up. They closed in pain as she collided with another head, the only thing softening her fall was a thin coat of bright red hair.

"Oh, sorry Ron, didn't know you were on top of me." She she said sarcastically, rubbing her head. "Sorry to disappoint you then." He replied in a lower, more manlier voice than usual. Snapping her eyes open again, she realised they weren't the bluey-green of Ron's eyes, but the cheery bright blue eyes that belong to the twins. "Oh, good." She whispered, thankful that it wasn't actually Ron. She didn't know what she would have done if it actually Ron. Probably just ask for the way back and then hex him into oblivion.

"I'm George, by the way." He mentioned casually, smiling down at her.

"You can get off of me anytime you want, Fred."

"Damn, how'd ya know? My mother can't even tell me and George apart! Oh did you just notice I'm the better looking one?" He raised his eyebrow and winked mock-suggestively without getting off of her.

"No, George still wins that award. You actually have a freckle right between your eye and your eyebrow, it's noticeable once you realise it's there." She explained self-consciously. He still hadn't gotten off of her which meant she was still pinned to what she now realised was the stone floor.

"You need better eyesight. Squinting at small print on parchment everyday will make you blind to beauty." He tried to pose like a model for her, but lying down on the floor made it difficult, not that he tried to show it. "And when did you even notice I have a freckle there? You would've had to study my face if to notice that, which means that I am the hotter twin. Everyone fancies me, there's no need to be ashamed. I won't tell anyone, you can trust me."

Hermione just laughed. "You're a bit too eager there, Fred. I had to find some way to tell you apart, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get you into trouble without thinking it was George. And do you seriously think I would have gotten a crush on you in the first five minutes I knew who you were, do you?"

He looked as if he was thinking hard. "Well, it took Ginny about a day to fall in love with Harry, so I think it's safe to assume that yes, my good looks and incredible charm could have won you over in the first five minutes. Or you could have just been cold and wanted my fire red hair to keep you warm." he shrugged. The movement caused Hermione to remember he was still on top of her.

"Not to sound to prude or anything but, can you, uh...let me up?" She didn't want to just outright say 'get the hell off of me', but she did want him to get the hell off of her. Not that it wasn't nice talking to him, just that her back was getting really sore.

"I'm quite alright here thanks" he said as he snuggled into her, causing her to laugh and wince at the same time. His head was on the right side of her collarbone and his hair was tickling her neck, which was very sensitive all of the sudden. The thought made her blush.

He must of assumed the blush was from laughing as he got off of her gently, still smiling. Any trace of the smile had disappeared as soon as she winced. She only made it to a sitting position against the wall, it was all her body would allow her. She must have been knocked over pretty hard, the footsteps from before sounded as if they were coming pretty fast, and people had described him and his twin as 'human bludgers', so it must have been quite the impact. Fred slid down the wall next to her. He was so close that his hip was pressed against hers. She didn't mind though, it made her feel warm again.

"How hard do you reckon I hit you?" he asked her, concerned.

"I can't even remember you hitting me."

"Shit, Hermione, I'm really sorry. I was looking everywhere for you - I have your bag by the way - and I nearly went through the whole castle before I heard you call out. I was worried about you after you ran out of the Great Hall. Where were you?"

Hermione was touched. He could've just checked the library and given up, but no. Someone had actually cared enough about her to try and find her when she was upset. Things were definitely starting to look up.

"I have no clue where I was. I was just running down random hallways trying to get as far away from the Hall as I could without anyone being able to find me." She looked sheepishly at Fred, suddenly feeling guilty that he had to look for her for so long. "Then I just collapsed. I was in a dingy hallway with a portrait of a woman from four centuries ago. We got talking and I told her my... I told her what had happened. She said to get rid of your brother and to get out of there because Dumbledore was coming. I tried to get away but I was too slow and he caught me. Maybe caught isn't the right word, he...we had an encounter? Anyway, he said not to worry, that everyone needed space once in a while or something like that, and gave me the rest of the afternoon off from classes. Can you believe that? He told me he would tell all my teachers that we had a private meeting and to excuse any homework. Not that I would've needed to do it, I'm already ahead, but still! I thought I would lose my Prefect badge, but he just gave me a free pass willy-nilly! Can you believe it?"

She turned to face Fred, who was facing away from her. Her heart sunk a little. She thought she had found someone who would listen to her long ranting, but she was wrong. She started to get up; if the wall was more interesting than her, he could get hexed for all she cared.

A hand swiftly grabbed her wrist as soon as she was kneeling. "Where are you going?" Fred asked, looking a bit hurt.

"If the wall is more interesting than me, I'm leaving. I've had enough of being treated like rubbish for one day." she replied, trying to get her wrist free from his grasp. "Let me go!" She cried indignantly. She would not just sit there and be treated like crap. Not again.

"Do you seriously think that's why I was looking away?" Fred asked incredulously. She was confused. That's why he was looking away, right?

"After today, I'm not sure I know anything anymore." She whispered, plonking herself down next to him anymore. She couldn't leave anyway, she didn't know the way back to the common room.

"I was looking away because I was laughing at what - no, don't leave yet, just hear me out!" She had tried to get up again when he said he was laughing at her. Did he not see the way she ran out of the Great Hall hours ago? Did he not see that she was already in pain?

"I was laughing because you said willy-nilly!" Fred said completely seriously, at least until he burst into fits of laughter. That's all it was then? Just a random expression that made him laugh? Not her stupid rant? Fred was rolling on the floor, a tear running down his face. Seriously? Could he be any more immature? Although, his laughing was quite infectious...

Soon Hermione couldn't contain a small laugh at Fred, who had calmed down enough to get back up into a sitting position against the wall. "What was so funny about that? It's just an expression!" She asked with a bemused grin.

"Muggles are just so funny with some of the things they come up with. I just imagined everyone walking around Diagon Alley shouting out 'willy-nilly to each other and-" the thought must have come back to him, as he once again started laughing extremely loud. If Ron were to mock something she said, she would be the first one to hex him to Timbuktu; but with Fred? She didn't know why she wasn't offended, probably just because it was something so inappropriate that she couldn't help laughing along with him. It was a pretty funny thought.

Fred calmed down again, looking as if he was done with laughing at a silly Muggle expression. He cleared his throat which must have been sore from all the laughing. "And yes, I can believe he would do something like that, even if he is the Headmaster. He's a funny bloke, Dumbledore; saved my ass a few times too. Did you ever hear about the time where me and George made a Polyjuice potion and walked around as Dumbledore for an hour? He got a right good laugh out of that. Anyway, it was two years ago..." Fred helped her up, slung her book bag over his shoulder and started walking away, telling his tale.

By the time Fred had shown her the way back to a corridor leading into the Great Hall, they were both sore from laughing the whole way there. It had taken them about twenty minutes to make it back, and there were students coming out of their final classes for the day. It must have been around 5'oclock she deduced, and it was nearly time for dinner. Although she had been with Fred for nearly an hour, she still didn't want to force everyone, especially Ron. When she voiced her thoughts, Fred was understanding, which she thought was a bit weird.

"How about this; you go back to the common room and ill go get something to eat from the kitchens, sound good?" he asked eagerly.

"Why don't I just come with you to the kitchens? I'd like to see Dobby and we could just sit at one of the tables in there." she suggested. There would still be people in the common room most likely; as not everyone went for dinner at the same time and it was impossible for Fred to get into her dorm. She could go in his but...well, Ron usually complained about the loud bangs from experiments in their dorm, and she didn't really want to touch something that would turn her into a goat for whatever reason. And she did want to see Dobby even though she wasn't as obsessive over S.P.E.W as last year, she was still knitting and spreading awareness.

Fred slung an arm around her shoulder as they walked towards the kitchens. "And that is why you are the smartest witch of our age." He complimented as they walked. Somewhere over the hour they had been together all the awkwardness of Fred being her best friend's older brother had worn off, and the two of them seemed to be getting along just fine. She never thought she would see the day where she preferred to be in Fred's company rather than Ron's, but there was a first for everything. He hadn't said one bad thing about her yet, and having friends once in a while was nice.

They made their way to the kitchens while talking about trivial stuff like the weather, N.E.W.T level classes (Hermione wanted to know as much as she could) and Quidditch. Hermione wasn't a big fan of it, but she did appreciate the logic of the game and knew how hard it was to ride a broom, let alone the pressure of not being hit by a ball midair. It was nice talking about it with Fred rather than Ron. Ron always started yelling over everyone to get his opinion heard when it came to Quidditch, but Fred let her interrupt and ask about a rule if she didn't understand. It was almost peaceful talking to him, which was not a word that she would describe the Weasley's. At least on Christmas morning anyway.

When Fred finally tickled the pear and the door swung open, Dobby greeted them excitedly. "Miss Hermy! Weezy's brother! But where is Harry Potter? Oh, I has not seen Harry Potter in weeks! Is he alright? Dobby is very worried." The house-elf went from happy to distress in seconds, and she had to calm him down.

"He's fine Dobby, just caught up on homework. I'll get him to come say hello in the next few days, alright?"

"Oh yes! Dobby is ever so happy! Harry Potter is a great friend you know." Dobby told Fred, much to her amusement. Dobby assumed that everyone knew who the great Harry Potter was, but didn't know if he was a nice person or not, which meant he always had to reassure people. It made Fred look a bit confused, but she nodded at him, trying to make him go along with it.

"Oh, believe me, I know. Me and Harry are great friends too. Now, is there any way we could get some dinner in here? I'm starving!" Fred asked, rubbing his stomach.

"Oh course, brother of Weezy! Dobby is sorry for not asking! Here!" with a snap of his fingers, a table was covered in plates stacked to the top with glorious food on it. "Dobby must go now, I has work to be doing. Call Dobby if I is needed!" he yelled as he ran off into a corner of the kitchen with a simmering pot of something boiling over. Fred sat down eagerly at the table, rubbing his hands together in an exaggeration of how hungry he was. Hermione laughed and sat down in the chair across from him.

"I don't think we'll be able to eat it all." She said doubtfully as she stared at everything. All her crying before had made her hungry, but the amount of food on the table was enough to feed half of Gryffindor if the Weasley boys weren't sitting there.

"Speak for yourself" Fred answered with a mouth full of food, piling more on his plate as he ate. It was almost comical at breakfast; listening to how much weight the girls in Gryffindor had put on in the last week while watching the boys see how much they could eat in ten minutes, with one of the Weasley boys always winning. How could she blame them? After Molly's delicious cooking, even she wanted thirds!

They sat in a comfortable silence for a little while, the only sound was utensils hitting plates. After a good attempt at eating everything on the table from Fred, he sat back in his chair, looking at Hermione expectantly.

"What?" she asked, confused. Did she have something on her face?

"What are you gonna do about Ron?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Fred leant forward and placed his elbows on the table, resting his head on combined fists. "Lady Pipit or whatever her name is suggested that you find out if Ron actually likes you in that way. What are you gonna do?"

She was stunned. She hadn't thought about it, she was too busy trying to find her way back to civilisation after their chat. She was going to ask her for advice, but Dumbledore had unfortunate timing and she never got to ask. Did she really want to find out? What if he didn't? What if he did? Would she be better off knowing, be it good or bad? She was so confused. She seemed to be way too confused for her own liking nowadays, and it was all thanks to Ronald.

"Woah, woah, you don't have to come up with a plan now, I was just asking!" Fred seemed to sense she was going into overdrive again and tried to calm her down. "How about I think of something? Then you can just decide whether you like it or not, if I can't think of something I'll ask George, okay?"

"No! I mean, I don't want George knowing is all, I don't want anyone knowing if it turns out that Ron doesn't actually..." She trailed off. She didn't want to think about the rest of that sentence, not now, not ever.

"We can keep him out of it then, that's fine. But do you really love Ron?"

"What?"

"Do. You. Really. Love. Ron?" Fred asked slowly and clearly, as if she hadn't heard the first time. Did she really love him? It seemed to be the question running through her mind for the past three weeks. Did she? Before today, she was almost certain, but the way he made her feel during lunch? Her doubt seemed to bloom as she talked to Lady Pivit and now Fred, who had been so nice to her. Why couldn't Ron be like him?

Merlin riding a jet ski. Did she really just compare Ron to his brother?! Thinking back, she had been comparing Ron to a lot of things, like children-eating monsters or Blast Ended Skrewts and she wasn't so disgusted at the thoughts as usual. That can't be a good sign.

"I'll take that as an 'unsure' then." Fred said, looking as if he had an idea conjured up. "You still want to go through with a plan, yeah?"

"Yes." she said without letting herself think about it first.

"Well then;" he said, getting out of his chair and going over to her. He held out a hand, which she quickly took. He pulled her up and their eyes met, his sparkling with mischief and hers now filled with apprehension at the look on his face.

"Tell you later, but for now, I think I need to go to bed. Join me?"

"What?!"

"Merlin, Hermione, I meant join me walking back to the common room, don't get your robes in a knot!"

They looked at each other for a moment before breaking out into uncontrollable laughter at the accidental innuendo. As they walked back to the common room with her arm in the crook of Fred's elbow, they laughed at each other's stories of siblings and Muggles. Hermione particularly liked the one about Ron as a young boy being trapped in the attic with the family ghoul trying to shoo him out. At last, they made it back to the common room, but before she could say the password, Fred grabbed her hand and spun her around. He pulled her close and whispered in her ear. "Tomorrow night. After dinner. Be in the common room. We're gonna have a little fun."

Fred's proximity was too much for her for some unbeknownst reason and she shyly pushed away. Fred must have thought something else, as he grinned down at her and walked through the portrait's door, leaving a stunned Hermione staring at her outstretched hand.

**Please R&R for more/quicker chapters!**


	4. Plans in Action (IBYLGOTD)

**A/N: Alrighy, I should have said this in my AN chapter, but completely forgot. I am terrible at times and timelines. I have to look everything up if I'm unsure, and even then I don't know if it's right. So please, if anything is wrong, message me privately or leave a review telling me what's wrong. I think I got Percy right in this, and I know that Umbridge was bitching around Hogwarts in Hermione's 5th year, but I don't know whether I'll mention her or not. Probably not. And now, enjoy!**

Chap 3 – Plans In Action (I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor)

Stop making the eyes at me,

I'll stop making the eyes at you.

What it is that surprises me is that I don't really want you to

And your shoulders are frozen (as cold as the night)

Oh, but you're an explosion (but you're dynamite)

Your name isn't Rio, but I don't care for sand

Lighting the fuse might result in a bang with a bang-go

-_Arctic Monkeys, I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor_

Hermione was usually good with plans and keeping secrets, hell, it was the only way for her to survive. So what was so hard about keeping this one? Was could Fred flirting with her even be classified as a secret? Or was it because no one had ever flirted with her before and now she knew it was going to happen? Maybe it was simply because Ron was going to see the whole thing, but whatever it was, it was completely messing her up on the inside.

It was Wednesday night in the common room and she was sitting on her favourite sofa in the common room, the one directly across from the fire. Harry and the aforementioned Ron were sitting on a plump couch to the right of her, talking animatedly to Lee about next week's Quidditch match. Ron was starting to yell a little as he always did, but it went unnoticed by the other students in the full common room as they had all adjusted to him.

He still hasn't apologized about yesterday, but gave her and Fred a funny look when they walked into the common room laughing at one of Fred's many embarrassing tales of Ron. When Ron asked what was so funny, Fred told him what he was telling her, making Ron turn a funny off-white colour and made his way to his dorm without further comment. She bid Fred goodnight, as it was about 9 o'clock when they had eventually made it back. He quietly bid her goodnight too, looking as if he wanted to say more, but George had grabbed his arm and pulled him up to his dorm too. She had quickly said goodnight to Harry, who was watching with a confused expression on his face as she walked up to her dorm. Once in there, she had gotten into her pyjamas and fallen asleep instantly, all the crying and walking around making her more tired than she cared to admit.

When she had woken up the next morning, she had jumped out of bed as quickly as she could. She wasn't one for sleeping in; there were too many books to read and not enough time. She had wandered into the bathroom adjoined to her dorm to brush her teeth, but was mesmerised by her own reflection. She was smiling. In the morning. Before her first coffee. That only happened if Lavender or one of the other girls had been too tangled up in bed sheets and had tried to stand, but falling on their face instead (Lavender did this weekly).

But what was she smiling at? It was too early for Lavender to be up, let alone complaining about her sore face. Did she have a good dream? She couldn't remember what she dreamt about. She didn't think she had a dream the whole night. _That's it! _She didn't dream about Ron! She didn't wake up in a sweat the moment they were about to kiss, like a child did when a monster tried to eat them.

She was now full-on grinning. Did she seriously just compare Ron to a childhood monster that ate small children? Ron would eat anything and everyone knew it, but she doubted children were on his list. She shook her head, more to wake herself up than to get the smile off of her face and got in the shower.

Going down for breakfast alone, she received stares from a bunch of passing second years. Was something on her face? There wasn't any toothpaste on the corner of her mouth, she had checked. So what were they staring at? She rubbed her face self-consciously, trying to detect whether there was anything sticking out. She didn't feel anything, and as she opened the doors to the Great Hall, she deducted they were staring because she was the only other person in the hallways.

As the day continued, she still received stares wherever she went. Finally getting annoyed, she found Harry during their afternoon tea break.

"Harry, have you noticed everyone staring at me today? It's quite ridiculous really. I can't even walk to class without groups of Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs staring or Slytherin sneering. Have I grown an extra head?" she said exasperatedly.

"No, you've just grown a smile." Ron said absent-mindedly, picking at a piece of thread unravelling from his jumper.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she was confused. She had grown a smile? She smiled occasionally, generally not in front of everyone, but she did smile.

"What he meant was that you've had a bit of a grin on your face today. Not that smiling is wrong, especially for you, but it's a bit disconcerting that you just had a fight with Ron and you're grinning from ear to ear. Did something happen yesterday, y'know, apart from the obvious?"

_Did_ something happen? She had run away, feeling alone and lost in a gloomy castle, and by the time she had made it back to civilisation, she felt as if she had made some decent friends that could take the weight of the world off of her shoulders. Lady Pivit was quite smart and it would be nice to have someone to talk to without having to worry if you were boring them. And Dumbledore understood how she felt, even if he did express it in a weird way. And then there was Fred. Fred had made her feel as if she was a different person. That she had a chance to be the type of person that she would watch and wonder how they had it all, the friends, the knowledge, the time for it all. And it felt amazing having someone to share a random joke with, someone that understood her sense of humour. Who cared that it was her best friend's brother?

"'Mione?" Harry looked concerned again. Gosh, he was always doing that around her, like she was his baby sister who needed protection from the big bad world. It was a nice gesture, but sometimes it was just irritating.

"Just remembering what Fred said he and George did to Ron a few years back, nothing out of the ordinary."

Ron had stopped picking at the hem of his school jumper and looked up, appearing paler than usual. "What did he say...about me?" He tried to act nonchalant, but both of them could see right through it.

"Oh, just a short story about you being locked in the attic with a ghoul. I must say, Fred is an excellent storyteller. The way he described your appearance after you escaped as 'A dishevelled two year old who had wet his pants' was probably my favourite part.

Ron abruptly stood up, looking as if he was about to throw up. "I'll see you in class, Harry." He muttered and practically ran out the door, leaving Harry to try and hide his amusement at his friend's discomfort. She, on the other hand, was unable to contain the fit of giggles that had bubbled out her throat. Seeing Ron walk out like that... it shouldn't have been so funny, but it was fun laughing at everything rather than reprimanding everyone for a change. Harry seemed to notice this too.

"I better get to class too... keep smiling 'Mione; it looks good." Harry said with a small smile as he walked out of the common room, making her remember she still had one more class to go to before the day could end and Fred's plan could be brought into action.

"...I swear, girls are the weirdest creatures...HERMIONE! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Harry yelled at her, clicking his fingers in front of her face. Snapping out of her daze and looking at the grandfather clock, she realised she had been staring into the fire for nearly half an hour, making her eyes water.

"Are you alright? Why aren't you smiling now? Did I do something wrong again?" Ron asked exasperatedly. Why would he even care? It's not like _he_ tried to find her last night. Hell, he hadn't even _tried _to apologize! He was a bit slow, but even she thought that Ron could do better than ignore her all day unless he made snide remarks. She sighed. It was never going to get better, was it?

"So I _have _done something! Don't just sigh about it, tell me what I've done so I can make a _bigger _fool of myself!" Ron asked sarcastically, putting his elbows on his knees and leaning into his hands. _He looks like a therapist sitting like that; _she thought. _All he needs now is a long red couch and a notebook. Oh, and maybe some brains._ Looking at Ron's face and his obliviousness to her thoughts made her bubble up in laughter, making Ron, Harry and Lee look at her as if she was crazy.

"She's gone completely 'round the bend!" exclaimed Lee, who as not used to seeing her without a book. Harry, who had seen her like this before, tried to explain without letting Ron hear.

"She's having a bit of a hard time right now. Fighting with Ron...it's not good for her. All she wants is for him to apologise, but you know how he can be;" he said, looking at Ron, who was sitting in the exact same position, but with a confused expression on his face. She was trying to calm down. It seemed to be working, but she looked up at Ron, and collapsed against the couch in a fit of giggles again. "He's not going to apologise, but I'm really not sure what's wrong with 'Mione. She's not usually like this..." he drifted off, waiting for her to catch her breath.

"Want to explain?" Harry asked her with a small smile. She pointed at Ron. "All he needs is a long red couch!" she explained, a small tear of mirth dripping out of her eye.

"A long red couch? Are you completely insane? I'm already on a couch!" Ron said cluelessly. He was interrupted by Harry, who had finally caught up with Hermione's logic and had started laughing too.

While wrapped in her own little world (Hermione) or wondering what in the name of Merlin's socks had gotten into her (everyone else), they hadn't heard the telltale bang of the the portrait hole opening and shutting. The new additions to the common room headed straight for the couches surrounding the fireplace, tapping Lee on his opposite shoulder. Spinning around and finding two redheaded boys giving him flirtatious waves made him yelp in surprise, bring Harry and Hermione back to normal.

"What's up with those two?" George asked Lee as he stole the last unoccupied seat on the male's couch, squashed between Lee and Ron, sticking his tongue out at his twin who was still standing.

"Not quite sure, something about long red couches." He muttered, upset that Hermione looked happier without him.

"What's so funny about long red couches?" said Fred as he sat down next to Hermione. '_Next to'_ _might not be the right words_ she mused. He was sitting as close to her as he did in the hallway last night, with his hip touching hers. The only difference between the two was that no-one was staring at them yesterday, not trying to figure out what was going on. _No going back now, Hermione. Let the flirting begin_.

Fred thought it was quite genius last night as he discussed his idea with her. She on the other hand, was completely nervous about it, asking if there was anything else she could do. "Do you want to know whether he even has a spark of romantic feelings towards you or not? Would you rather find out now or pine after him for years and then suddenly find out he doesn't love you, meaning you've wasted your love life on someone?" Once he put it like _that_, she finally agreed.

The plan was quite simple. Hermione would just sit there and Fred would flirt with her in front of Ron. While Fred was 'working his magic' as he so put it, Hermione was to try and discreetly gauge Ron's reaction, determine whether he was pissed off in a 'my-brother's-flirting-with-my-best-friend' or 'my-brother's-flirting-with-my-best-friend-and-she's-flirting-back-what-are-you-doing-you-belong-with-me-can't-you-tell?' way. Either way, said Fred, he was going to be pissed.

It had been funny last night, but now it was just daunting. What if Ron never spoke to her again? What if Harry saw through the plan and thought she was pathetic? What if George held it over her for the rest of her life? What if it didn't work?

"Fred, move away from her;" Ron said in a hard voice. "She looks terrified of you being so near her."

_Say something, fool! _"I'm not 'terrified' of Fred, Ronald. I feel a bit creeped out that all of you are looking at me like I'm some sort of animal in a zoo!" _Way to go Hermione. Do they even know what a zoo is?_

"What's a zoo?" asked Lee.

"A Muggle exhibit thing where they keep animals, I'll explain later." Harry said absently, still looking between her and Fred. _Crap. He can tell. He knows! s_he panicked.

"Hold up, I'm still confused. Do you sit on long red couches in zoos?" Fred asked, looking down at her. She looked up to meet his eyes, and was reminded of him being on top of her less than 24 hours ago. _Real appropriate, Hermione._

The thought drifted away as a sharp bark of laughter came from Harry. Breaking their eye contact, she, along with everyone else, turned to look at him.

"Sorry. Just imagined a therapist getting trampled by an elephant. Continue." Harry said, still smiling.

"I still don't get it..." said Ron.

"Ron? Ron Wealsey? Not understanding a joke? Shame on you brother, I thought we taught you better!" George said in mock horror, raising the back of his hand to his forehead in disbelief.

"Since when had Ron ever understood something?" Fred added, causing everyone but Ron to laugh. "Like you understood what she was rambling on about!" Ron whined. "If _you're_ so smart, _you _explain it!"

"And if _you're _so smart, why don't _you _stop offending Hermione, you big oaf." Fred mimicked, slinging an arm around her shoulder, causing her to blush a shade of red that would have made Ginny's hair jealous.

"Take your arm off of her! Look at her, you've made her embarrassed. She doesn't like it, Fred. Hermione, I'm sorry for insulting you. Fred, take off your arm!" Ron had stared at Fred during his short outburst, not even looking at her when he 'apologised'. Just when her blush was starting to fade, he made it rise up again, but in anger.

"_She_ can speak for herself, _Ronald._" she said venomously. "If I wanted Fred's arm off of my shoulder, I would have asked him _politely_ to take it off."

"But...but...that's my brother...and you're my..." Ron started to stumble over his words while everyone was staring at him. Lee, who was not used to so much confrontation or drama, tried to change the subject.

"Did it work?" he asked George, hoping that whatever prank they had planned for the upcoming Gryffindor/Hufflepuff match had worked.

"Like a charm, Lee. Let's just say that the Great Hall is going to be a house short tomorrow morning."

"All thanks to George." Fred added, nudging her shoulder to get her attention away from glaring daggers at Ron. "Mione, if looks could kill, he would be a putty in your hands by now." Fred lent down to whisper in her ear, making her ear grow warm. "Don't you see? It's working. As much as I hate to admit it, he nearly called you his girlfriend a minute ago. Ignore him for now, talk to me and George, forget about Ron and just _let go._" She met his stare and nodded her head so slightly that only Fred could detect it. Smiling down at her and giving her a supportive squeeze on the shoulder, he turned to George, Lee and Harry who were in the middle of a biased Quidditch conversation.

_As much as I hate to admit it - _what was _that_ supposed to mean? That he actually _enjoyed_ pretending to flirt with her? Sitting near her? Having his warm, strong arm around her? Ridiculous. Maybe he just wants to prolong Ron's pain. _Of COURSE he does, you dimwit! He's not attracted to you, he's making sure Ron is! For YOU! And you're attracted to his brother, not __**him**__! _Of course she wasn't attracted to him. This was her best friend's older brother for goodness sakes! He was two years older than her! What could he possibly see in her that is better than say, Angelina? She was into Quidditch, she was most certainly beautiful _and_ she was the same age as him.

_Who cares if Fred fancies Angelina! You. Love. Ron! _THE other side of her brain argued. _You have been for a long time! If you didn't love him, why do you always dream about him? Why have you always forgiven him so easy, let him get away with his half-assed apologies? WHY!_

It was the million-Galleon question, really. Why _did_ she love him. Was it even love? They say that there's a fine line between love and hate, so was she really -

"Hermione?"

Of course she was Hermione. Nowadays, that was the only thing she was sure of. After having to cram so much information for her O.W.L.S studies to be able to achieve the highest marks possible, her head was filled with random -

"Hermione!"

_What? _She was losing it.

"Maybe something _is _wrong with her."

_If I'm hearing random people talking to me in my own head I must be!_

"Hermione!"

"What!" she said, wanting the voices to go away. Really, it was getting quite cluttered in her head. She needed a break. After two weeks of school. Fabulous.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Harry asked once again, concern in his bright eyes. Realising she had just yelled at four people without meaning to, she blushed a deep scarlet. "I'm fine, just lost in my thoughts. I'm sorry for yelling." she said sheepishly. With one last look, Harry turned back to his conversation about what Fred and George had done to the Hufflepuff flags before the upcoming Quidditch game. She wanted to know what they were saying, mainly how many school rules they had broken this time, and strained her ears. Concentrating hard on their conversation, she didn't realise Fred had been watching her from her outburst.

"You don't look ok." Fred muttered in her ear, making her jump a little. "Well, I am, so just leave it alone." she snapped. What in Merlin's beard was wrong with her today? First, she couldn't stop grinning from the moment she woke up, now she couldn't smile if someone payed her a thousand galleons to!

Just when she was about to apologise, he leaned down again. "Well, I am, so just leave it alone." Fred mimicked in her ear. Why was he being so nice? She had basically just told him to sod off, and here he was, trying to cheer her up. Why hadn't he run away like his brother. _Maybe because they're not the same person, idiot. Idiocity doesn't run in families. Just Ron. _"Is there someone bugging you or not?_ Do_ you want me to move over?"

_Don't you let him leave yet, you imbecile! _"No!" she said, apparently too loud for the common room's standards, as the only other occupants of the room, a bunch of third years playing Exploding Snap on the opposite side of the room, turned to look at her, along with Ron and the others.

"Yes, believe it or not;" Fred said in a loud enough voice for Ron to hear, "I _did_ magic off Ron's eyebrows before my first year! Aren't I special?" He nudged her in her ribs lightly. Was he trying to get her to play along?

"Oi! I did that _myself_. I would never let anyone near my eyebrows!" Ron yelled at Fred. Apparently, this twist in the conversation made it impossible for the third years to look away, and the only girl in the group started to giggle at Ron's seemingly random statement.

"Why would you magic off your own eyebrows?" She asked after Fred confirmed he was trying to get her to play along with a wink.

"I didn't! I mean...well I didn't...I was trying to...forget it!" He said in defeat, crossing his arms and looking towards the fireplace, provoking a laugh out of George and Lee and Harry had to suppress a grin. But Fred still looked down at her, obviously trying to figure something out.

"Can I help you?" she muttered under her breath at a shocking attempt at being discreet. Luckily, the boys were too busy pestering Ron with stupid questions about hair removal.

"Just trying to figure out what is actually wrong with you. You're happy one moment and gone with the fairies the next. Did my embarrassing stories of Ron from last night not tide you over?" Unable to suppress a laugh, she looked up to see Fred's easy-going girn back on his handsome features.

"I just haven't been sleeping well; scratch that, I haven't been sleeping at all. I never thought I had a limit of studying, but the O.W.L level assignments are ruthless. Not to mention _him_ barging in and ruining my dreams." At the mention of Ron she had nodded in his general direction knowing Fred would get the idea.

"But you were fine when you left the Great Hall after your lunch. You were grinning like mad. Did Ron apologise then?"

"He never did, he's been ignoring me."

"Oh yeah, sorry 'bout that."

"Don't be, it's not your fault your brother acts like a git sometimes. Unless you dropped him on his head when he was younger, which I assume you didn't… did you?" she asked with a small smile.

'Not that I can recall. Might have been George." He grinned. "Although you're right; something must have happened to him, I mean look at the rest of us. Bill is working at the most prestigious bank known to our kind, Charlie's smart enough to not get eaten alive by dragons everyday, Percy is an insufferable git who made it into the Ministry of Magic, myself and George are two devilishly handsome pranksters who run a thriving business inside a school, and baby Ginny is able to put anyone in their place in ten words or less. Seeing as there are seven of us, you would think one of them would have to be a dud, wouldn't you? And the only person who could fill that place is Ron."

"What about Percy? None of you seem to like him." She added. She could listen to reasons why Ron has been a fail for hours. Fred seemed to sense this.

"Percy was in the lead for that role for many years, we decided – 'we' being myself, George and Ginny – but that changed when Percy got into the Ministry the moment he applied. Could you seriously see Ron getting that far in life?"

"Yes, I could -"

"Without _your_ help, without _your _notes, without _your_ brains?" Fred butted in

"That is a completely different question." She replied after some though. Fred just laughed. _He has a point_.

"Do you see my point? Ron will never get anywhere without someone else. Percy, on the other hand, won't get anywhere if someone is around him while he is studying, so -"

"Why are you lot talking about Percy?" Ron asked. They must have finished teasing him on a high note because the tips of his ears had flared red like they did whenever he got embarrassed.

"Not Percy, per se, but about the O.W.L's. I'm just giving Hermione some tips for your written test tomorrow." Fred said quite earnestly, making her struggle to contain her laughter. To stop herself from ruining his joke, she leant her head on his shoulder. Unconsciously, he tightened his grip on her shoulder a tiny bit, but still enough to make her feel warmer than usual. The only people who noticed her trying to contain herself were George and Lee. Ron had gone as white as a sheet and Harry just looked confused.

"I thought the test was next week. Are you sure 'Mione?" Harry asked.

"So you actually _do _have a test? Damn, I just wanted to get a reaction out of Ron." Apparently, that was the perfect thing for Fred to say to 'get a reaction' out of Ron, as his whole face matched the colour his ears had been not a moment ago.

"I _knew_ we didn't have a test! I'm not an idiot, Fred."

"You're not?" Fred, George, Lee and Harry answered in perfect-yet-scary synchronisation, causing them to laugh loud enough to wake the students in their dormitories. Ron shot everyone who laughed a dirty look and looked horrified when he noticed her head on his older brother's shoulder. "And just _what _do you think _you're _doing to her?" he asked, spitting venom.

"The lady's tired." He replied calmly, but if she were to look up at Fred's face, she would have noticed the rage barely hidden in his bright eyes. But she didn't.

"The lady is _so _tired;" she said as she disentangled herself from him. "That she is going to bed. Goodnight everybody." She walked towards the entrance of the girls dorm and made to go up the stairs, but stopped. "Harry, Ron, don't forget to finish your charms work tonight. I will not be made a fool by doing your homework in the Great Hall at breakfast tomorrow."

She started walking up the stairs but was suddenly grabbed by the wrist, forcing her to stop. She instantly knew who it was by the way her whole arm had gone warm and tingly. It was enough to make her mind become fully alert, sending any trace of drowsiness somewhere she couldn't find. _Damn._

She turned around to see a happy Fred looking at his younger brother, but still holding her arm. He suddenly turned to her after a moment and the sight nearly took her breath away. His expression looked like the definition of happiness. His lopsided grin made his dimple on his right cheek stand out, and she was drawn to the way his flaming red hair captured how bright his sparkling blue eyes were. She finally noticed how those blue eyes were focused on her - only her. Even though she could hear George calling out to him, he was still paying attention to her. The simple gesture nearly took her breath away, but he didn't seem to notice, thank Merlin. _I wish Ron would look at me like this once in a while._

"Want me to make sure Ron won't ask you for help tomorrow morning?" He leant in mere centimetres away from her lips, causing her heart to start pounding and her stomach to flip. _What the hell is wrong with me? Oh Merlin, am I blushing? What is _happening _to me? This isn't Ron, this is _Fred! _Your best friend's _brother_! _she yelled at herself as she felt heat creep up from her neck and into her cheeks. Fred, being completely oblivious to her inner turmoil that had unexpectedly arisen at the thought of Ron, continued to smile warmly. When she finally realised he was waiting for something, she tried to remember _what _he was waiting for. Something about not doing Ron's homework? She nodded hesitantly, hoping it was the right answer.

Somehow his smile seemed to get even brighter at her seemingly dull response. He moved himself even closer to her, making her heart think it would leap out of her chest if he didn't move away in the next three seconds. She tensed up when she realised how close his lips were to hers. Did she eat something funny for dinner or was she coming down sick? She never acted like this, never acted like the schoolgirl she actually was, she was too mature for silly nonsense. Must have been something in the pumpkin juice.

Fred seemed to notice how stiff she had gotten and gave a breathy chuckle in her ear. "Don't worry, love. I'm not gonna bite. Just gonna...help you out." Was he going to finally step away before she passed out? "Just tap me if you want me to stop." He said before he cocked his head to the side and pressed his lips to her cheek.

The world stopped. As soon as she felt his lips pressed against her cheek, her world exploded with a bang. Sure, Krum had kissed her after a dance at the Yule Ball, but this...this was different. Whereas Krum was sloppy and solid against her lips, just a gentle brush of Fred's lips against her cheek sent her senses into overdrive. But stray thoughts of Krum were far from her mind as Fred's lips abandoned her cheeks, leaving her wanting more. He leant back slightly, just enough to be able to look into her eyes. She could have stayed in his gaze forever if time and fate allowed, but it was not to be.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" A faded voice yelled somewhere from across the room, but she barely heard it. All she could think about is the fireworks going off in her cheek, about how she wanted to press his warm lips against hers and never let go, about wanting _more._

"I said," Fred was pulled away from her by Ron, and she felt the frozen feeling of loneliness as soon as he let her go. "what do you think you're doing?" Ron finished spitefully, looking straight into his older brother's eyes. Fred looked straight back, and if she hadn't been paying an abnormally large amount of attention on his face, she wouldn't have noticed the clouded look of his eyes.

"Saying goodnight to Hermione, of course. Do you take offence to that?" Fred asked loudly and clearly, but she could see the slight change of colour still in his eye as he spoke. What was it? Doubt? There was nothing for him to be doubting as far as she could reason. Anger? What would he be angry about? Ron didn't pull him back _that_ hard, just enough to get his attention and to pull him away from her. Did _she_ do something wrong? In the semblance of a brain that wasn't turned to mush by a quick peck on the cheek, she reasoned that there was no logical reason he could be angry with her. He told her to poke him if she was uncomfortable with what he was doing, and it never occurred to her to stop what he was doing. Was that it? The fact that she didn't stop him made him so…whatever he was? Was he now so uncomfortable that he never wanted to see her again?

"When you're all over her like…like…_that_ then I do!" Ron yelled in his face. The hooded mask in Fred's eyes had been replaced by the infamous Weasley temper when his brother started yelling at him. She didn't stick around to see what would happen.

"I've had enough of this. Fred;" she said, trying to hold back another blush as she stared into his eyes. "Goodnight to you too. Ron, it's pages four hundred and thirty-two to four hundred and thirty-eight and the questions are on page four hundred and sixty." She turned towards the boys still in front of the fire. "Goodnight, and I'll see you all tomorrow."

Before she could look at Fred again, she turned and bounded up the stairs to her dorm.

**A/N: I just wanted to say a big thank-you to everyone who reviewed, especially Aeirlys. I can't believe I forgot to say this at all, but this whole fic is dedicated to . , and without her I wouldn't have the motivation to write the damned thing. She is a massive Katie Bell/Oliver Wood fan and if you are too then please check out her page for some of her outstanding fics. She also got me into Arctic Monkeys, which is the band who sings IBYLGOTD.**

**Once again, review for faster chapters!**


	5. Points and Pranks (Brother)

**A/N: I know in the books that Padma and Parvati are in different houses (Parvati being a Gryffindor and Padma in Ravenclaw), but to make my story work better, they're in the same house. It is called fan_fiction_ for a reason. Also, it walways makes my day when I come home from school and see my inbox full of fanfiction emails telling me I have new followers, so to all of you out there: hello, and thank you for reading! To all my reviewers: I love you. I seriously do, even if your review is just 5 words long, thanks for taking the time.**

**Now, on with the story!**

Chapter 4 – Points and Pranks (Brother)

And the girl that my brother likes is finally talking to him  
And his chest is all swelled like he's proud and happy  
Like he's got a great idea  
Like he's making a memory

_ -Brand New, Brother_

Standing in front of the full-length mirror in her dorm, Hermione was massaging her aching jaw. She had woken up in the same manner as yesterday – cheeks sore from smiling all night long. Only this time she could remember every little thing in excruciating detail, which kept her grinning as the other girls in her dorm woke up.

"Ooh, Hermione's smiling, girls. Did you finally get out of bed from the other side this morning?" Lavender asked her as she yawned getting out of bed.

"Or is it her mystery man again?" Parvati asked, bent over at the waist to try and brush her waterfall of long black hair.

"Whatever are you lot talking about?" she asked, her smile faltering.

"Well, it's not really a mystery of sorts, is it?" Padma joined in the conversation as if she hadn't even heard her speak. "We all know who it is, so you may as well admit it."

"I haven't the slightest clue of what you're talking about. Any of you." she tried to say, but her weak argument fell on deaf ears.

"I don't see why you haven't asked him to Hogsmeade already. It's not like you have an _actual _date." Parvati looked as if she was trying to imitate Mrs Weasley with the way her hands were on her hips and her tough love tone. "I mean seriously, the day he turns you down is the day You-Know-Who tries to enrol at Hogwarts as a first year Hufflepuff, pigtails and all."

"There's a very good reason I haven't asked him to Hogsmeade yet." She turned away from the mirror and whispered, trying to sound scared of their reaction. Apparently, it worked.

"What? We won't tell anybody, we swear. Right girls?" Lavender was now fully awake and sitting cross-legged on her bed, wide-eyed at the prospect of new gossip for the Hogwarts rumour mill. She could see right through Lavender's fake promise, even as the twins agreed heartily.

"Promise?" she whispered again and looked at all the girls one by one like a frightened puppy.

"Promise!" they replied in unison.

"It's because I don't know who you're talking about!" she shouted loud enough to wake the 4th years on the floor underneath them. The twins winced at the noise but Lavender took it in stride, determined to get information out of her.

"Ron, silly!" Lavender giggled from her perch on her bed. "Ever since Tuesday night you've been grinning like a Cheshire cat. Did he come to apologise for being a prat at lunch and reveal how he's loved you since he saw you on the Hogwarts Express in First Year? Or did he snog you senseless when you two made up last night in front of the fire when everyone else was in bed?"

"If that's true, please tell me which couch it was on so I never sit on it again." Padma replied and went into the bathroom.

"So was he your first kiss?" Lavender asked, bouncing crossed-legged on her bed as Parvati joined in on the gossip.

"We didn't -"

"Of course it wasn't!" Parvati slapped Lavender on the shoulder playfully with a grin pointed in her direction. "She went to the Yule Ball with _Victor Krum._ You seriously think that night ended without a passionate kiss? I thought not." she added when Lavender shook her head.

"You don't really tell us much; do you 'Mione?" Lavender patted the space across from her and Parvati. "C'mon 'Mione!" she whined at her silent refusal to move closer. "Just a few details!"

"As much as I would love to hear all the juicy details of Hermione's love life that might not even exist;" Padma walked out of the bathroom and grabbed her wand, casting a complicated-looking spell that dried her thick hair immediately. "I really don't want to miss breakfast. _Again._" Padma said with a pointed look at her sister.

"Hey!" she waved her hand in front of her body as if she was advertising it. "This sort of perfection does _not _happen automatically."

"Huh." Padma cocked her head to the side and studied her identical sister for a moment, then shrugged. "It does for me."

Before Lavender could catch her breath from laughing at Parvati's affronted expression, Hermione ran into the bathroom with her robes and a towel, silently thanking Padma for diverting Lavender's attention.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The four girls chatting down the stairs made an unusual sight. Usually Padma would already be downstairs waiting for her sister and Lavender to stop gossiping and make their way to the Common Room, Hermione already long gone with Ron and Harry. But when the four girls made their way down the stairs without a care in the world, most people in the Common Room stopped to stare.

"Gosh;" Lavender sighed and flicked her hair back dramatically as everyone focused on her. "Don't you just _hate _all this attention?"

Lavender's loud statement appeared to make the occupants of the room look away or strike up a random conversation with someone close to them. As Lavender and Parvati walked with linked arms, a bunch of first years continued to stare at the group. "_What?_" Lavender hissed, sending them running out of the portrait hole as if their robes were on fire.

"That wasn't really appropriate." Padma contradicted, folding her arms.

"So? It's a bit of harmless fun. C'mon sis, I really don't want to miss breakfast. _Again._" Parvati mocked her sister's tone perfectly, making it hard for her twin to stop a smirk forming on her face.

"Alright, let's go. Coming, 'Mione?"

"You go ahead, I just want to talk to Harry for a moment..."

"No, you want to make sure Ron doesn't hate your guts. He doesn't. Get over yourself and come have breakfast with us. It'll be nice having someone with brains sitting with us for a change."

"Flattery will get you nowhere. And why do you think Ron hates me? According to Lavender, we were having a heated snogging session in front of the fire last night." she referred to one of the many apparent reasons the girls had made up as to why she was smiling in the morning. The reason she was smiling in general, really.

"I think you think Ron hates you because Fred defended you last night for whatever reason he needed to. Care to elaborate on my theory?" Padma prodded the bushy-haired girl gently. How was she going to get out of this one? She was a terrible actor!

"Well, I, umm…" she stammered, not knowing how to continue. Luckily, the Weasley's weren't the only ones known for an appetite.

"I swear;" Lavender yelled out to them with one foot out the portrait hole. "if you lot don't hurry up I will eat _you _for breakfast. Hurry _up_!"

Hermione and Padma power-walked towards the portrait, knowing how serious Lavender was about her food. "Don't think I've forgotten about our little…" Padma looked around to see if anyone was listening."…discussion. I want the truth, Granger." She whispered as she walked out of the Common Room. Hermione nodded seriously. If there was anyone who would find out the whole truth, it was Padma.

With that in mind, she followed the three girls to breakfast, keeping an eye out for a shock of red hair.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As if double Potions class first thing on a Thursday morning wasn't enough to get her and the other Fifth Years in a sour mood (not to mention a three foot long essay on the effects of moonstone), it seemed as if Mother Nature wanted to remind them all that they lived in Britain. As Hermione was trying to eat a cold turkey sandwich in peace, a loud clap of thunder broke her out of her reverie. Looking up, she discovered that the enchanted roof of the Great Hall was getting pelted with thick raindrops, relentless in their fall. She hated rain; it made her hair look like a wet, frizzy, straggly mess. Not to mention that it was always cold and, by some weird stroke of bad luck, she almost always had Herbology when a downpour was scheduled.

Not many people were in the Great Hall, as it was only the very beginning of lunch and she was sitting by herself as Ron wasn't talking to her after last night's events. Harry, being the poor people pleaser that he was, had elected to sit with Ron for lunch at the opposite end of the table after making sure she was alright. Being at least a good twenty metres away from her didn't seem to halt the concerned looks he sent in her direction (whenever Ron was too busy chomping on a sandwich to notice) much to her disappointment. Really, if he was that concerned about her well-being he would have sat with _her_ instead of Ron. She sighed and put the rest of her sandwich on her plate. She had lost her appetite thinking about Ron and stood to leave when a hand clasped her on the shoulder lightly.

"My dear, you cannot leave now; the party has just arrived!" George whispered in her ear.

"I don't care George, I need to get to class." She said as she tried to get past him. Years of Quidditch had made him strong enough to hold down a Fifth Year, which didn't really surprise her.

"Class doesn't start for another half hour. Just wait for the show, alright?" She could tell by George's tone that she wasn't going anywhere without hexing him into oblivion first. She sat down grumpily, mumbling an "Alright, alright" in George's general direction.

When George sat down opposite her, she began the tirade of questions that he was thoroughly prepared for.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing"

"Then why do I need to be here?"

"Trust me, you want to be here."

"Where is everyone?"

"How should I know? It's only the beginning of lunch."

"So you don't have anything to do with the lack of students?"

"Not me."

"Then who?"

"Fred."

"Oh Merlin, what's he done now?"

"Don't give him all the credit, I helped too!"

"Helped do _what_?"

"I can't tell you."

"Well I'm not going to give you the credit."

"But will you laugh?"

"Laugh at _what?!"_

"This."

During their argument, students had begun filling up the large dining room. Gryffindor was still only about a quarter full, and only half of the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables were full. A quick look behind her affirmed that no-one was seated at Hufflepuff yet. Although nothing stood out, there was something definitely different about the hall.

"For Merlin's sake, George. If you do not tell me what you're talking about I will hex you into next year."

"Just tell the lady." Fred said as he plopped down next to her, grabbing a sandwich off of a nearby platter and shoved a bite into his mouth. Someone ought to teach the Weasley boys some proper table manners.

"Fine. Fred's madly in love with you." George said as casually as if commenting on the weather. The answer was clearly not what Fred was expecting, as he choked on his mouthful of sandwich and begun to go red in the face. Not letting herself believe George for a second, she began to hit Fred on the back to try and help him out. After a minute of gasping for air and having most of the Gryffindor's attention, he was finally able to stop his violent coughing.

"What the bloody hell;" he wheezed. "was _that_ for?!"

"I dunno, mate. Anything to get a laugh, right?"

"Well you don't have to be a git about it!"

"Neither did you!"

"What are you guys talking about?" she asked, clearly not understanding where the conversation was going.

"I decided to be a good person for once, so I woke my brother up in time for breakfast" Fred nonchalantly admitted, taking a smaller bite out of his sandwich.

"What's so bad about that?" she asked, having the feeling he didn't do it nicely.

"Well, if the fact that he woke me up while I was having a marvellous dream about a new product we could have produced wasn't bad enough, but being five feet in the air when he did was!" George claimed as Fred smiled at him.

"Did you get hurt?" she asked, completely ignoring Fred's 'silent' laughing from her right.

"No, he just dropped me on the bed when I tried to go back to sleep!"

"And there was no harm done! Stop being such a little baby, George. We already have Ron."

"Too true, brother, too true. Truce?" George asked, holding out his hand.

"Truce." Fred agreed as they shook hands.

"Good, now we can take an equal share in changing the flags instead of just me. Y'know, I think Snape is the only one who's realised that they've changed."

As the twins stared at Snape, she looked around and tried to find out what they were talking about. The Hogwarts flag behind the staff table was still pristine, as were the Gryffindor flags hovering above their table. Ravenclaw and Slytherin seemed to be intact, although she could see a nearly-imperceptible moustache on the Slytherin snake. Turning around to look behind her at the empty Hufflepuff table, her small smile turned into a grin. There _was_ no Hufflepuff table according to the flags, just another Gryffindor flag.

"You finally figured it out then, huh?" George asked.

"What do you think?" Fred elbowed her softly, making her side go warm and fuzzy. _For Merlin's sake, not again!_

"It's, umm...incredible?" she stumbled over her words, trying to ignore the way Fred's elbow was still gently resting on hers.

"Oh don't worry, m'lady!" George cried dramatically. "We noblemen shall never reveal your part in our insidious acts."

"I didn't _play_ a part in your prank; Hell, I didn't even know what was going on!"

"Way to kill the mood, Hermione." he mumbled

Fred suddenly nudged her again, sending waves of warm throughout her entire body. _This really has to stop. _"Look!" Fred exclaimed, a spark of mischief making his eyes light up as he turned to make sure she was looking. She didn't notice it though; she was too busy watching the Hufflepuffs walk in, along with the rest of the rest of the Hall.

A large posse of First Years walked though the large mahogany doors, screaming in shock as Peeves floated through a wall, shouting "Gryffindor!" in a perfect imitation of the Sorting Hat. As his voice boomed across the Hall, their canary yellow ties had changed into a dim gold slashed with scarlet and their usual black hats were now the same as their ties.

The first girl to notice the change started yelling so shrilly at one of her friends that Hermione had to cover her ears. As soon as the boys figured it out they started to poke each other with their hats as if they were swords.

"You're both going to be in so much trouble." She tried to say sternly, but to no avail. The smile she was trying to hide couldn't be detained for all the Galleons in Harry's Gringotts vault.

"Wouldn't be the first time -"

"And it won't be the last time." George said, finishing off his brothers' sentence, but visibly gulping seconds later at something above her and Fred's head.

"Yet it seems that Filch or I have something horrible for you to clean up every time. I can only assume that this tomfoolery was your doing, am I correct?" Snape drawled from behind her. Was he addressing her as well? Oh Merlin, if he actually thought for one second that she had something to do with it, he would report her to Dumbledore and he would strip her of her Prefect badge!

"Yes, you are correct. Ten points to Slytherin!" Fred cried out animatedly. He must have noticed her tense up if he was going to act like _that_ in front of Snape.

"And while we're discussing house points, twenty points from Gryffindor for defacing other people's property-"

"Come on, Snape! It's just a bit of harmless fun. The second they walk out of the door the charms will wear off and their uniforms will be back to normal!" George complained.

"_Another_ twenty points for using magic in the halls, and-"

"Sir, we didn't use it in the halls! We used it on the door before classes finished!" Fred tried to reason, but failed.

"So you mean to tell me that you skipped class just to charm a door?" Snape inquired with a vicious smirk, as if he knew that there was no way they could get out of their web of lies.

"No sir, we had a free period."

"Both of us." George added on.

"Well then, I know Miss Granger knew about your little shenanigans; tell me, is that the reason you kept me from making my way to the Great Hall with your useless questions after class?" His lifeless hair dangled in front of his pitch-black eyes, which were staring daggers into her, trying to get her to snap right in front of him.

"No sir, I actually did need help. I didn't even know that they were going to do something. Anyway, isn't it in the spirit of Quidditch to pull a harmless prank on the opposition's house before a match?" she asked innocently. She was pleased with herself; she didn't have to lie once.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for disrespect for a professor." was all he said before he turned around in a billow of black robes.

She turned to Fred and George in horror. "I didn't do anything! I didn't show him any disrespect! Who does he think he is, taking points from Gryffindor just because he thinks we're all just a bunch of-"

"Hey! Calm down, prefect. You know you didn't do anything wrong, we know you didn't do anything wrong – hell, the whole student body of Hogwarts knows you wouldn't do anything to risk losing house points without seriously considering the pros and cons of the situation, so just calm down!"

"Calm down? You seriously want me to calm down? I could lose my duties as a prefect because of this and you want me to calm down? Why, I nev-"

"You are overreacting a bit there, love." Fred stated calmly in an attempt to get her to act the same. "The day anyone even threatens to take away your badge is the day Filtch willingly joins in on a prank. You know they would be stupid to give you up for anything, so quit worrying. Me and George will take all the blame for points lost in the past two minutes."

"George and I." she chastised quietly as she took a deep breath, trying to compose herself.

"Well you must be feeling better if you can correct our grammar, right Gred?"

"Of course, Forge. Now, let us eat until we can eat no longer, and then eat one last sandwich." He proclaimed loud enough for

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After a lunch full of laughter and stuffing faces (and thankfully, no Ronald), Hermione reluctantly left the company of Fred and George in place of retrieving her Transfigurations essay that was due after the lunch break. Seeing as she only had ten minutes to get to her dorm, grab the essay and make it to the opposite end of the castle, she was in a bit of a dash. As she walked briskly down a flight of stairs, a voice yelled out to her from the landing.

"Are you gonna take all day to walk down a bunch of stairs?" George asked her as she struggled with her books. It had taken her three weeks to perfect the essay and there was a snowballs chance in hell that she was going to let it get ruined by rushing to class - any more than she had to, anyway.

"Maybe if _someone_ would have let me leave the Great Hall when I had wanted to, then maybe I would be able to stay and chat. Being as it is, I am now going to be late to Transfigurations if you do not let me pass so please, kindly step aside and let me through."

"I'll do you one better. I'll walk with you. Not like I've ever been early to a class in my life - on time for that matter. Anyway, why are you so late? After losing _all _those house points at lunchtime, I would've thought you'd try and get in the good books again, no?" George questioned airily as he matched her furious pace with long strides.

"I already told you why at lunch, I needed to go back to my dorm and get my Transfiguration essay, but you were too busy ogling Angelina!" she huffed indignantly as she rounded a corner.

"I wasn't _ogling_ Angelina - I merely noticed that her skirt was higher than usual. Would you rather me look at your skirt from now on?" he suggested, waggling his eyebrows.

"Because _that_ isn't creepy enough." she replied tartly, but her attitude changed as she saw the door to the classroom come into sight.

"Hermione, wait." George reached out and grasped her elbow light enough to stop her. She would have stopped anyway; she had never heard either of the twins sound so humourless. Turning around to face him, she noticed there was not even a trace of a smile, not even a small spark in his eye. Something was really up.

"I'm his brother, alright? I have to do this. He told me all about the 'plan' he came up with, he told me - don't look so shocked, I'm his twin for Merlin's sake. Anyway, he told me about him running into you in the hallway the other day, which I'm sorry for, and he told me about everything _you_ said. Not the specifics, just the gist of it. I know he's just trying to help you, but Fred? He's the more 'overly-attached' brother in the family. No one but you, me and Fred know everything's an act for you and Ron but-"

"Mr Weasley, if you would be so kind as to letting Miss Granger come to class and get an education rather than lollygagging around in the corridors, I'm sure she would be pleased. According to Professor Snape's mood in the Great Hall, I can only assume that you have Potions now? I take it that he already took points from Gryffindor at lunch - don't make me take them from my own house." McGonagall said sternly from the long-awaited doorway.

"Just one more minute, Minnie. I solemnly swear that she will be in class and showing up all the Ravenclaws in just a few moments. Please, it's important." George begged, looking ready to drop to his knees and beg if she said no.

"You have one minute." she directed to her. "Any longer than that and it's twenty points from each of you for every minute she isn't in class." She quickly turned around and walked into the classroom.

"George, I really-"

"Fred's a great actor, but there was no façade last night. If you don't believe me, I'll borrow old Dumby's pensive and show you how he was when you left for bed last night. You may be good with books and spells, but if you're stupid enough to even want a future with Ron... I just hope you know what you're doing is all. If you hurt him in any way..." he trailed off, never breaking eye contact. He was actually serious. He thought something was actually going on with _her_ and _Fred._

"I promise I'm not going to break his heart." said said a bit sarcastically as she eyed the door. She did _not _ want to lose any more house points.

"Yeah, well, don't make promises you aren't sure you can keep." He said as he began to walk off. She stood rooted to the spot. Did Fred say something about her last night? George knew about the plan, but did he know more about it than she did? Was there some sort of disguise plan involving her and Fred?

"Don't you have class?" George asked from the end of the corridor. Meeting his eye, she was happy to see that it had recaptured its usual spark of mischief. With a slight nod of his head towards the classroom door to remind her that she had class, she promptly turned around and walked into Transfigurations, trying to set her mind on the class instead of a certain redheaded boy and keeping a safe distance from another.

**A/N: I know it's taken me a bit longer to upload than usual (I have a split household and I was at my fathers for the weekend) and it's a bit shorter than the rest, but it was always meant to be a short chapter. Please review for a longer/quicker chapter, or review to make me happy :)**


	6. After The Match (crushcrushcrush)

**A/N: Hello! Sorry that this chapter had taken so long, but real life got in the way as sad as that is (to make up for it, this one is 2000 words longer than the last chapter). Speaking of real life, I have a slight problem. I wont be able to update for a few weeks, starting on the 29th of December, as I am heading off to America for the school holidays for three weeks. I have finished school for the year and when I get back I will be spending two weeks at my fathers house, which (hopefully) means an update. Another problem is that I have run out of ideas. At the end of this chapter, feel free to leave a review with a suggestion or even just a song you would think steer the direction of the story. Finished A.N at end.**

**dragongirl2101 : Thankyou for the review! As to doing a chapter in Fred's P.O.V, I was going to wait and see how well this story goes first, bit I kind of really really _really _want to do the whole story in Fred's point of view! I think it would be better than writing a sequel and I have so many ideas already, so I hope you can wait and see what happens!**

Chapter 5 – After The Match (crushcrushcrush)

Nothing compares to a quiet evening alone

Just the one-two of us, who's counting on

That never happens

I guess I'm dreaming again

Let's be more than this

_ - Paramore, crushcrushcrush_

The match was so much more intense than anyone thought it would be. Hufflepuff played as if they would never have the chance to do so again. What Gryffindor - and most of the school - thought was going to be an easy match turned out to be one of the best that the 'Puffs had ever played. Forty minutes into the match (with the scores at 80-120, Hufflepuff's favour) had the whole school was on its feet in anticipation when both Seekers noticed the Snitch at the exact same time. Harry's Firebolt was no match for the Cleansweep 3000, but Summerby was on a roll, dodging all the bludgers and Gryffindor players in race of the Golden Snitch, Harry left in the wake.

Fred and George, taking personal offence to the sudden performance increase of their opponents, made sure they lived up to the title of 'Human Bludgers'. Smashing the bludgers as hard as they could into anyone in their way, it made for an exciting match. As soon as Summerby's hands were mere centimetres away from the Snitch, George had struck the ball as hard as he could, causing Summerby to topple off his broom and into Ravenclaw's stand.

While all this was happening, Harry had recovered his speed and with a new batch of hardset determination, used all the power he could muster out of his broom to reach the Snitch. Seeing as he had the fastest broom on the planet it didn't take him long to capture the coveted Golden Snitch. As soon as Lee started jumping around the commentator's area in celebration of their victory, the whole school had their eyes on Harry Potter, Gryffindor's Greatest Seeker.

Apparently anyway. Not being one for watching people fall off of an enchanted household cleaning item to their doom, Hermione had opted to stay in the common room and finish off her Transfigurations essay – two feet on the pros and cons of changing a rabbit into a basic cooking utensil. Having nearly the whole school outside in the cold sunlight (especially the Gryffindors) meant that she could do her homework in the privacy of the common room without being distracted by third years playing Exploding Snap in front of the fire. No, the common room was peaceful without anyone to distract her from her work; much more comfier than the library too.

However, all good things came to an end and, in the space of just a few hours, the entire common room was decked out in even more Gryffindor spirit than she could ever imagine. Muggle streamers were hanging off the walls and showered anyone who dared to go near them with maroon and gold fireworks that would follow you around for minutes at a time. A victory banner was hanging over the fireplace, singing a rather inappropriate song about Hufflepuff to the large crowd gathered before it.

People's casual clothing would change into a bright red and gold if they tried to leave the party and a bunch of unsuspecting first and second years were gathered around the Weasleys twins to see their 'marvellous' new creation – Tongue Tiers.

Thankfully, no-one seemed to be breaking any rules as the party kicked into full swing mode when the Weird Sisters started playing through a conjured up radio, courtesy of Lee. She sure didn't want to be the bearer of bad news by banning anything from the party, despite anyone's pre-conceived ideas about her. She actually _did_ enjoy the atmosphere after a well played Quidditch match, even if she didn't attend. Seeing everyone loosen up and have a good time on a Saturday night was one of the few things she was willing to give up homework for, even if she didn't participate much.

Correction – _Most_ people had loosened up. Willing herself not to make it too obvious, she turned her head slightly to the left and through her peripheral vision and could see Ron standing in the corner, empty butterbeer bottle in hand. Ron had simply taken to ignoring her for the past four or five days, not that she really noticed. Assignment after assignment had been handed out left and right from every teacher, and not having to get mad at Ron for needing to borrow her notes for all their shared classes made life a whole lot easier for her.

"I'm going to get another butterbeer. Do you want a refill?" asked Harry as he stood up from the couch. He had obviously noticed his presence too, but she didn't mind if Harry wanted to talk to Ron instead; a play-by-play description of a game of Quidditch wasn't her cup of tea as everyone knew. Shaking her head no, she diverted her attention to watch Dennis Creevey try to talk to his older brother. After about a minute, the candy he had willingly taken from Fred seemed to take effect as Colin got a surprised look on his face. Dennis started to go bright red and tried to repeat the sentence, but Colin and his friends just burst out into laughter. Turning around with a look of horror on his face, he walked back to the group surrounding the twins as pale as a sheet.

Disappointed that the assemblage was not in her earshot to hear the results, she looked around the room. Lavender and Parvati were attempting to flirt with Seamus and Dean with Padma watching with a smug grin on her face. Much to Hermione's entertainment they were failing miserably. Seamus and Dean were trying to talk to some 6th years and Lavender kept butting in. Watching the irritation grow on Seamus' face, she wondered if she was supposed to pull the two girls away from the boys as Parvati started stroking Dean's arm lightly. Padma seemed to have had the same thought as she soon grabbed both girls by the arm and dragged them to a couch near hers. She could see the humour in Padma's face as she realised that they had both had had way too many cups of spiked butterbeer and probably wouldn't remember their flirtatious behaviour come morning.

As she continued looking around the room, she spotted Neville being squashed into the corner of the loveseat he was sitting on to try and keep some distance between him and someone else. On further inspection she realised that it was actually Luna Lovegood trying to make a move on poor Neville. Luna was known for breaking into Hufflepuff and Gryffindor's common rooms and reading a book. At first it seemed a bit odd, but when people noticed she was reading the books backwards they just left her alone.

_Poor Neville_ she mused. He was quite awkward really. Everyone knew he had a crush on Loony for whatever reason and now that she was throwing herself onto him – literally – he had no clue what he was doing. As Luna made herself comfortable on his lap he looked around the room cluelessly. As his terrified eyes met hers, she gave him a slight nod in encouragement. Going red in the face, he gave her a small smile and quickly looked away, paying attention to whatever Luna was talking about this time.

After a few more minutes of scanning the room, she noticed that Harry hadn't come back with a fresh butterbeer. Not that she expected him too, but it was always nice not to look like such a loner at such a festive occasion. No, instead of being a buzzkill in a crowded room, she could be a buzzkill in her dorm. Standing up and turning to face the couch to retrieve her empty butterbeer, she gave an shrill squeak of surprise when she lifted her head to see Fred looming onver her, a playful smile on his lips.

"Not going somewhere without saying hello first, are ya?" he asked, indicating the empty bottle she was about to place into the bin near her dorm entrance.

"You were a bit busy with your little mob of kids; I wasn't sure whether I would be welcomed or not." She said quietly. She didn't know why she said it in the first place, really.

Fred just smiled. "I assure you, you're welcome to say hello to any good-looking boy you want to! Unlike me, I mean, if I were to say hello to George every five minutes I would get a few weird looks, don't you reckon?" he asked casually as he jumped over the back of the couch into a perfect sitting position. "Now;" he said, patting the couch directly next to him. "Sit."

Hermione looked at him. _Really _looked at him. The little dimple that she noticed a few years back wasn't showing, which meant he didn't need to get out of any sort of trouble – at the moment. His hair was a bit unruly; not as bad as Harry's (no-one could have such untamable hair like Harry), but she supposed it was from laughing at Dennis so animatedly. As he knocked a stray piece away from his eyes, she looked into them, wanting to know how to look that carefree, that _happy_. Maybe it had something to do with the glazed look to them, but she was pretty sure he was proud of his efforts on the pitch.

"Earth to Her-mi-neeee!" he sing-sang as he continued to tap the seat next to him. Diverting her gaze quickly, she unceremoniously plunked down next to him, careful to look at anything but him.

"Naw, don't be like that! Don't you like my singing?" he joked, trying to get her to look at him by poking her lightly on the leg. Not detecting that his light were slowly creeping higher and higher up her leg. When he reach a particulary ticklish spot she didn't even know she had, she yelped out in surprise for the second time that night, instantly facing the culprit for both occasions.

"What in the bloody world is wrong with you? Don't you know it's rude to...to do...to have...don't _do _that!" she whispered indignantly, making sure no-one saw Fred's tipsy hello. Too bad someone did.

"What are you doing to her?" Ron stormed up to Fred, not even bothering to say a quick hello to her. Before she even had a chance to give a sarcastic remark, Fred had put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed lightly, which made her fall into him in shock.

"I'm...saying hello." He said after shaking his head and blinking his eyes repetitively as if trying to get something out of his eye. "Because she was alone and you...wouldn't come over and talk to her." _Definitely drunk_ she mused. However, her slight happiness was short-lived.

"Well, I'm here now so you can stop touching her and _leave_." Ron said, leaning in close to his brother as if challenging him to say no.

Fred just stared at him. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I've had an excessive amount of spiked butterbeer and I'm afraid that if I stand up I might projectile vomit on anyone in the vicinity and it might land on Hermione, which I'm sure none of us want." He said smartly before letting out a belch.

"You're _drunk?_ Oh, I can't wait to owl Mom about this. You know you two aren't supposed to get in anymore trouble this term, right?" He then turned to Harry with excitement clearly written on his features. "D'you mind if I borrow Hedwig? Ginny had to use Pig last night and I doubt he's already returned."

"Umm..." Harry said, trailing off. She knew the gist of what was going through his mind – which friend to help. Having been in the predicament before, she aimed an imperceptible nod in his direction. A questioning look followed it and she repeated her gesture.

"Yeah mate, but you'll have to do it tomorrow. We can't leave the common room without getting caught and we can't afford to get in any more trouble this year."

"Perfect!" said George as he climbed over the couch in the same manner as Fred did. "It gives us a whole night to perfect the letter! Lets begin." Leaning his elbows on his knees and resting his chin on intertwined fingers, he looked as if he was thinking quite hard.

"I don't need your sodding help. You're probably as drunk as the rest of them!" Ron cried when George just raised a single eyebrow.

"The rest of them, 'eh? That's a good place to start." George said before clearing his throat as he made a show of clearing his throat excessively. She could only laugh silently as George went on a long-winded speech to piss off Ron.

"Dear Mother Dearest. I am sorry to inform you that your son Fred has broken a promise of which all your offspring still in the education system of Hogwarts took. Being the foolish..."

"Whippersnapper" Fred supplied.

"Oh yes; being the foolish young whippersnapper that he is, he intentionally became drunk during a party for Gryffindor's outstanding victory against Hufflepuff. His behaviour was shocking, getting intoxicated at a party where this manner of conducting yourself was not only permitted, but encouraged. I for one think you should berate him before this sort of thing gets out of hand, before he begins other unruly behaviour such as inventing wondrous products to be used solely for the purpose of hearing a little dickens laughter. Signed your son, Ronald Weasley. Whattdya think, Gred?"

"Couldn't said it better myself, Forge." Fred replied with a grin on his face. Hermione didn't see it though. She was staring at Ron. The tips of his ears had reached a red unknown to mankind and the rest of his face was catching up quickly. She was waiting for the famous Weasley temper to kick in for the third time in two weeks. Harry must have noticed this too as he grabbed Ron's arm and pulled him towards their dormitory stairs.

She must have still looked worried as a hand gently patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry about him. Once the fact that Fred is drunk gets through his thick skull he'll be fine. For now, he's just fuming and I suspect he will be for a few more hours but he'll be in his room so it doesn't really matter." He stood up from the couch and leant over to whisper in her ear, "Just have fun tonight, alright?" and before she had a chance to ask what he meant, he was bounding up the aforementioned stairs.

The moment George was out of sight, Fred started laughing hysterically. She instantly found herself softly rubbing her face, making sure George didn't give her a fake moustache or other type of facial hair as he leant over.

"Not you;" he said when he had calmed down enough to take a breath. "them!"

Following the direction of his finger, she looked over to the other side of the common room. It seemed that Lavender and Parvati had succeeded with their flirtatious endeavours, but their counterparts for the night didn't look as happy. Trying to hold back a giggle at her roommates, she looked over to Fred who was now rolling around at her feet in peals of laughter at the girls. The only way to describe Lavender trying to kiss Seamus was like being kissed by a dog; open mouthed and all over his face. Judging by his reaction, he found it terrible but couldn't find a way to tell her.

Unable to hide it anymore, she burst out laughing with Fred, who had started all over again. Padma must have noticed the noise from across the large room (along with everybody else) as she joined in too, falling on top of her twin in the process. Parvati, who had just gotten around to holding Dean's hand, looked like she wanted to shoot her sister in the face for ruining her moment.

After a few minutes of laughter for both of them, they finally calmed down. She would have calmed down quite a while ago if it weren't for Fred, whose imitation of Lavender kept her in a constant state of mirth. As soon as he had gained enough composure to be able to breathe regularly he got up off of the floor and sat next to her in the same position as before – with his arm around her.

Feeling a bit awkward at the number of looks directed their way for an entirely different purpose, she tried to shake his arm off without him noticing. Unfortunately, he did.

"You alright, love?" he queried, slightly tightening his arm around her shoulder, almost possessively.

"What are you doing?!" she whispered.

"Keeping up appearances!" Fred mockingly whispered back with a massive grin on his face.

"Ron isn't even here!"

"So?!"

"_So_ you don't need to act like you love me, or even _like _me for that matter!" Hermione fervently whispered.

The amusement from the past ten minutes slowly slipped off his face. "Is that was you really think? That I'm only over here to help you with your boy troubles? I'm not here just to help my brother get the girl of my dreams, y'know. I like to be around you; I enjoy being your friend. You looked a bit lonely staring into the fire by yourself for ten minutes while your so-called best friends were completely ignoring you in the middle of a party." Fred slowly removed his arm from around Hermione and got up. Hermione immediately noticed how cold she felt when Fred's arm left her shoulder.

"_Fred's a great actor, but there was no facade last night. You may be good with books and spells, but if you're stupid enough to even want a future with Ron... I just hope you know what you're doing is all."_

"No!" she yelled a little too loudly, receiving funny looks from a bunch of third years nearby. "I'm sorry. Please stay, I mean, only if you want to, I mean I'm not obliging you to stay because I'm alone I'm just not that into Quidditch and I don't want to listen to play-by-play replays of a game I saw myself I mean Harry just went to go get us drinks an-"

"Hermione, dear, sweet, lovable Hermione. Do shut up." He said as he sat back down. His hip was still touching hers, but it felt a bit forced, a bit too unnatural. The usual and unexplainable warmth that filled her whenever he was near wasn't as strong now.

Having to break the silence she jumped to her feet. "Want a butterbeer?" she asked, which calmed down Fred.

"Spiked."

"That makes two of us."

After hearing that, he finally gave her a small but genuine smile. Making her way over to the desk covered in different types of drinks and snacks, she finally located the butterbeer with extra alcohol content, courtesy of George. "It's not a real party until I've tampered with the drinks." she heard him comment to a sixth year. Grabbing two in one hand and a bowl of chips in the other, she walked back over to the couch and plonked herself down unceremoniously next to Fred, nearly landing in his lap she was that close. As she was walking back and saw the smile on his face, she resolved to take George's advice and have a good time – just maybe not how George had meant.

Putting the bowl of chips on the table in front of them and handing a butterbeer to Fred, she attempted to take the screw-cap lid off without making a fool of herself. Sports had never really been her strong point, but she at least thought that carrying heavy books around all day every day would give her enough strength to twist a lid off. Apparently not.

"Here." Fred said with a bigger smile than before, obviously thinking her lack of physical strength was funny and handing over his own opened beverage. Feeling a tad put down by this, she shook her head to clear her mind and looked him straight in the eye, determined to have a good time.

"Y'know, you don't have to be prissy every time someone helps you." He said as he took a long swig of the beer he had opened easily. "Mere observation."

She was shocked. Did people seriously think that she didn't appreciate the help? Well, after everything else she'd discovered about what people think of her, she wasn't surprised. Still, she felt quite miserable and she lowered her head so he couldn't see this.

"Naww, Hermione, don't pout!" He said as he swung his legs over the edge of the sofa and rested his head in her lap. Astonished, she met his eyes and wasn't the least bit startled to note that the glossy look in his bright blue eyes was back.

"How long have you been drunk for?" she muttered under her breath, but seeing how close he was to her, he heard and replied with a proud grin; "Before the party even begun."

"Why? Don't you think it would be better to celebrate with your peers?"

"Don't you think it would be better to check if the grog hadn't gone off to make sure my peers _could_ celebrate?" he rebutted, taking a sip of his drink with his pinky in the air. Suppressing her giggles (which she seemed to be doing more often than not around him), she hit him over the head gently. "No sarcasm from _you _tonight." She demanded, trying to imitate one of her favourite Muggle movies.

Fred just looked at her as if she were crazy. "I don't think I want to know."

She shrugged her shoulders and let a smile escape, taking a small sip of her tainted drink.

"Hermione, the point of having a party with 'illegal' alcohol is to get drunk. Seeing how drunk I am, you have at least 5 more butterbeers to catch up on and if you drink it like a little girl, we're never going to get anywhere. I am prepared to stay up all night to make sure you have fun, but I'll probably fall asleep or just fall unconscious anyway, so goddamnit woman, hurry up." He reached over to the table, placing his now empty bottle on it and turned to her, still in her lap. "Now it's six. Your turn."

"I can see what type of person you are when _you're _drunk." She grumbled as she took a heartier amount than before.

"Enlighten me." He asked as he wriggled into a more comfortable position in her lap, returning the warm fuzzy feeling that was missing before.

"A blunt, sarcastic asshole." She replied as bluntly as him.

"A blunt, sarcastic, _handsome_ asshole." He corrected.

"Your twin maybe, but you? Seriously, look at your hair. Could it _be_ any messier?" she tried to straighten it out a bit at the front and was delighted when his eyes flickered shut at her touch. _So whatever this thing I have going on with him is mutual..._

"And your eyes! What if your mother were to walk in right now and have a good hard look at you? She would know straight away that you're drunker than a sailor. What do you have to say for yourself?" She asked quickly, trying to stay away from _that_ sort of subject.

"Thank the good man Merlin that _that_ will never happen, 'ey? Gotta love boarding schools; no parents allowed!" He laughed, meeting her eyes again. "Chop chop, woman! I want you to have the best night ever and you can't have the best night ever when your sober. Drink up!"

Having only half the bottle left and wanting to please Fred, chugged the rest of the bitter liquid down, wincing at the taste.

"Don't drink much, do you?" He waved his hands to reference to her face.

"I'm only fifteen!" She exclaimed while trying to find a way to get the acrid taste out of her mouth forever.

Noticing this, he handed her the bowl of chips. "Usually helps for beginners."

"Beginners? You seriously think I'm going to keep drinking this? It's horrible - it doesn't even taste like butterbeer!"

"Well, seeing as its my own concoction, I would hope not."

"Wait...you _made_ this? By yourself?"

"Of course not! George helped."

"So you and George are just casually making alcoholic drinks in a castle full of twelve to seventeen year olds who are supervised by some of the best professors in the world? Did it not occur to you that you might get in trouble?!" She asked sarcastically. The effect was ruined slightly when she noticed the small slur of her words. _Damn, this stuff is strong!_

Fred just laughed as he got out his wand, summoning two more butterbeers off the desk. "By the rate you're going, you're going to be as drunk as me after two more!"

_Screw it. Have fun tonight._ she thought as she snatched the beer out of his hand. "I challenge that. I'm not as weak as you might think. I punched Malfoy in the nose once."

"Really?" He asked incredulously. "And I didn't say you were weak. Your body isn't used to alcohol, so it won't take as much to get you drunk, but lets save the science-y stuff for later and just get sloshed." He toasted as he raised his glass. Without letting herself hesitate, she met his glass and drank it down.

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Dozens of spiked butterbeers and a few hours later found the common room deserted - except for a group of girls on one couch and a couple across from them. The music was off, the fire had burned down, but they acted as if the night had never ended.

"...and then I just...punched him! With my own fist! Look!" Hermione raised her fist as if it were a trophy while Fred, Lavender, Parvati and Padma stared at it in wonder.

"What was it like? He didn't _bleed_ did he?" Lavender asked as she shivered unintentionally. Years of living with Lavender taught her that any small amount of blood, even a paper cut, would send her running. To spare her from throwing up in her drunken state, she lied.

"I don't think so. He ran away too quickly. I don't even know how hard I hit him!" She said as she burst up into laughter. Now onto her fifth drink of the night and she was struggling to see straight. Somehow she had made it to the point where she was actually sitting on Fred's lap and could feel his muscular chest moving as he laughed at her crappy attempt at a lie. Thankfully Lavender was as drunk as her and she didn't notice. Parvati didn't realize she was lying either, but that might have been because she was too busy admiring her own hair in an intoxicated awe-like fashion to ever hear anyone.

Padma, still in party mode yet being the soberest out of the group, grabbed out her wand clumsily and summoned more drinks from the desk. After repeating the incarnation for the third time without success, she stood up and walked over to the desk. Coming back empty handed and giggling, she silently gathered everyone's attention.

"Look at the clock." She said as she dramatically pointed across the room. Straining to see, Hermione lifted herself off of Fred's lap slightly to see over Parvati's head. Throwing a hand over her mouth to stop herself from making a noise and waking everyone in their dorms. After all, it _was _half three in the morning.

"Oh well; time flies when you're having fun!" Parvati cheered as she drained the last few drops out of a bottle.

"Time flies when you're drunk as hell more like it." Fred said in a terrible impersonation of a girl.

"Wait, why are you still up? Better yet, where's George?" Lavender asked looking around. _She is absolutely smashed if she hasn't noticed George has been gone for hours._ she thought.

"I'm still up because I promised Hermione that she would have the best night ever! Can't do that while I'm asleep can I?" he questioned.

"And I have, thank you very much." She yawned as she snuggled in closer to Fred who wrapped his arms around her stomach instinctively. "But I think I need to go to bed. I already know the hangover's going to be a killer tomorrow, I can already feel it coming on!"

"How long has this" Padma signaled between Fred and Hermione with her hands, "been going on?"

"What?" Hermione asked the same time Fred replied "Since last week." Causing them to look at each other in shock.

"Define 'this'." Hermione said after a few seconds of staring into Fred's glassy eyes with her own.

"You are sitting on the boys lap y'know." Lavender butted in with a slur.

"Screw this; I'm too drunk to talk about dating." Hermione slowly unclasped Fred's hands from around her waist and stood up. "You girls going to bed or?"

"In a minute, we just need to ask Fred a few…questions…" Lavender left the implication hang as she huffed and reached for Fred's hand. Offended by her abrupt departure from his lap, he hesitated.

"Would you rather be quizzed about our scandalous dates around the castle or walk me to my dorm? Your choice." She yawned the last bit as she stretched her hands behind her back and stuck her chest out. After rubbing her eyes in an attempt not to fall asleep on her feet she met Fred's eyes to seek an answer. Noticing that the glossy look of drunkenness had been replaced by some sort of hunger, she looked down to see what he was looking at. As she had stretched her shirt must have rolled up and it hadn't gone back down quite right, revealing a large piece of stomach to Fred. Blushing furiously she lowered her shirt, causing laughter from her so-called 'friends' behind her. Snapping out of his spell at the loud noise he stood up and linked her hand through his.

Relived that they were walking away from the girls, she finally loosened up. Making their way to the girls stairway, Fred leant down and whispered "Are dates aren't _that _scandalous, are they?", much to the amusement of the gossiping Gryffindors left behind.

Instead of responding and making a fool out of herself thanks to the alcohol in her system, she slapped him playfully. "You know they would make something out of nothing just to have something to gossip about. According to all the books I've read, dealing with your very first hangover is one thing you do _not _want to do while you're pissed off. Dealing with those girls talking about us getting it on in the common room after hours would make me pissed off. Therefore, I don't want them getting ideas." She slurred nearly incoherently.

"Hows about we give them something to gossip about?" he asked innocently as he subtly tilted his head towards her lips. Not noticing how close he was because she was confused in her inebriated state, she tried to focus on what he was saying. Everything in the room was mixing together now, all the red and gold steamers were turning into a brown mush that actually looked quite nice settled around the dying embers in the fireplace. Blinking a few times to get her head straight she finally noticed Fred staring hungrily at her lips. Unconsciously licking hers while moving a loose strand of hair out of her eye, she cleared her throat.

The next thing she knew was Fred – more to the point the way his hands snaked around her waist, how soft his hair was when she threaded her finger through it, the little noise he made in the back of his throat when she stepped closer. But mostly, all her energy and thoughts were on his lips and how well they fitted with hers. Giving Krum a goodnight kiss was nothing compared to this. Heck, she would've given Fed more than a goodnight kiss the other night if she knew it was going to be like this.

Fred's calloused hands started moving upwards as her hands made small circles on the back of his neck. Still outside her shirt, his hands were moving dangerously close to a rather ticklish spot only she knew she had. When his fingertip pressed the space on her right side just before her breast began, she gasped into the kiss, allowing Fred access with his tongue which he took without a moments thought.

It felt as if they were in their own little world, getting to know each other through being as close as possible. Whether they were moulded together for a few seconds of a hundred lifetimes, she couldn't tell you, not even if her life depended on it. Through the fogginess in her mind that was being blown away with Fred's touch, something was going off in the far distance. It wasn't a cry, it wasn't a yell; more of an alarm more than anything. Not wanting to break away from her first proper kiss, she ignored it. Try as she might, the noise got louder and louder until Fred had finally had enough. After a quick peck to end it, he turned away from her and her swollen lips and faced the girls still on the couch.

"Enjoy what you see?" he asked, still holding onto her as she blushed furiously at their inquisitive looks.

"I think Hermione does." laughed Padma as she stood up. "I think that's enough excitement for one night. Come on, get up, we're all going to bed. _Now._" She said as her twin refused to get up. Knowing she wouldn't get up without assistance, Lavender lightly stood on her stomach, causing the girl to moan in pain.

"Careful." Padma said from across the room. "If you make her puke, you're cleaning it up. Not her, not me."

As the girls finally passed her and Fred on their way up the stairs they all gave the pair knowing grins. Whereas Fred grinned right back, Hermione felt a blush on her cheeks, never one for public displays of affection. After a quick pat on the back from Parvati as she raced up the stairs drunkenly, she turned to face Fred, still being held in his arms.

"That'll give them something to talk about, right? Might be the first true thing they've said all year!" Fred exclaimed. Hermione, trying to feel as happy as he did without showing how sick she really felt.

"I probably should have asked you first, right?" he said sadly when he noticed her grimace.

"No! You should have. I mean, you shouldn't have. Wait, that didn't make sense." She grinned up at Fred, finding that the know-it-all Gryffindor bookworm was as drunk as a skunk at four o'clock on a Sunday morning. "What I'm trying to say is...I'm happy you didn't ask."

Pulling her closer at her admission, he leant down to her again. Trying to meet him halfway, she stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck again. Just as their lips were about to meet, she hiccupped right in his face.

Laughing as he pulled away slightly, he manoeuvred her hands from around his neck into his, swinging them around as he watched.

"I think;" he said after a moment. "that it's time for you to go to bed. Don't want your very first hangover to be too bad, 'ey?"

"Don't I get to have the full experience of 'the best night ever'?"

"Trust me, you'll change your mind tomorrow. Come find me in the common room before breakfast and I'll give you a potion to ease your head. But for now…" he gave her a quick peck on the forehead. "…goodnight."

As he let go of her hand and walked over to his dorm, the common room was silent. Before he descended down the stairs he turned around, much to her delight. He gave her a little wave and before she knew it she was reciprocating cheesily. Shaking his head in silent laughter, he made his way down the stairs into the boys dorm. Following his cue, she walked into hers, heading straight to her bed. The girls, who must have been waiting up for her, were sitting in a triangle on the bed next to hers – Lavenders. So many questions had been asked from the bed as she walked over to hers, but before she had a chance to reply, her head had hit the pillow and she had instantly fallen asleep.

**A.N: I have also written another story (just a quick oneshot) which is Fremione that I would love some feedback on. I either had writers block for a few weeks for this chapter or I just got bored. Either way, I'm starting to procrastinate on the thing I _want_ to do, which is probably mental. Anyway, it's called Acrid and you can find it on my page. It was written for the OTP 50 challenge and I would love it if you could spare the time to read it. Thanks!  
**

**Please R&R for quicker/longer chapters!**


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